In a video uploaded on X (formerly called Twitter) account, prominent activist and lawyer Dele Farotimi has voiced his opinion on Nigeria's electoral history, drawing a comparison between the 1993 and 2023 elections.
Farotimi criticized former military ruler Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) for his role in the annulment of the 1993 election, asserting that the former head of state cannot repay the "debt he owes" for his actions.
"It is only God who will demand recompense from him," Farotimi stated, arguing that the leaders who succeeded Babangida have worsened the country's political landscape.
He also condemned attempts to revise historical narratives surrounding the annulment, accusing Babangida of distorting facts decades later.
"Thirty-two years later, this man presumes to rewrite history with his tissues of lies," Farotimi said.
Referencing the late Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, the presumed winner of the 1993 election, Farotimi lamented that Abiola is no longer alive to defend himself.
"Moshood Kasimawo Olawale Abiola is no more today, he can't speak for himself. All the pernicious lies that have been told since his death to justify the annulment of the election are merely afterthoughts," he remarked.
Dele Farotimi criticized the state of accountability in Nigeria, stating that individuals who should be seen as reprobates have instead been validated.
"We have a duty to remember," Farotimi emphasized, lamenting what he described as a growing culture of forgetfulness in the country. "In this land, we are becoming a land of amnesia," he said.
He further noted the paradox of national memory, arguing that while Nigerians fail to recall matters of true significance, they also refuse to forget things that have been tainted. "We remember nothing of consequence, but we also forget nothing that we defiled," he remarked.
"Those who should be examples of reprobates have been verified. We have a duty to remember, because in this land, we are becoming a land of amnesia. We remember, nothing of consequence, but we also forget nothing that we defiled."
"There is always a reason to be divided-Igbo this, Yoruba that, Fulani this, Hausa that, Ijaw this," Farotimi remarked. However, he questioned whether those in positions of power exhibit the same divisions when pursuing their interests.
"Have you seen them divided in their gathering of vultures?" he asked, suggesting that the ruling class prioritizes self-interest over ethnic loyalties.
Activist and lawyer Dele Farotimi has drawn parallels between Nigeria's 1993 and 2023 elections, describing the latter as history repeating itself three decades later.
"The road to the elections of 2023 came through 1993, it was history repeating itself 30 years later. But the only reason it stood was because other frauds have stood in the past."
"The ultimate expression of citizenship is the right to choose who leads you. That is the ultimate expression of citizenship. In the absence of the right to choose your leader, you're not citizens, you are subject."
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