By Mark Lenu
The Edi Abali of Kalabari Kingdom, Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo Asari has narrated the role he played in the June 12 struggle, adding that the price he and selected nationalists paid led to the democracy in Nigeria today. Alhaji Asari who is also described as the Niger Delta freedom fighter revealed this while speaking on the state of the nation.
According to him: “I can say that I was involved 100 percent in the June 12 struggle. There are many veterans alive in the June 12 struggle who can attest to my participation in the struggle. “We fought with our lives and everything to make sure that democracy stands in this part of the African continent.
“And those who were in the trenches with us knew us very well such as the late Pa Anthony Enahoro, President Bola Tinubu, and to a certain extent people like Chief Gani Adams. They all know my credentials and how we stood firm. “Today, a lot of unknown entities have appeared and they are claiming relevance on something they no nothing about.
“Myself, Churchill Whyte, Baba Fubara were the main June 12 figures in the South-south. Kokori and others were in Lagos and I was the operational director of all the activities of June 12 and NADECO in this part of the world before I was moved to Abuja. NADECO means the National Democratic Coalition which was formed on 15 May 1994 by a broad coalition of Nigerian democrats, who called on the then military government of Sani Abacha to step down in favor of the winner of the 12 June 1993 election, M. K. O. Abiola.
On June 7, 2018, former President Muhammadu Buhari directed that the nation’s Democracy Day be henceforth held on June 12 every year, instead of the previous date of May 29.
