June 12:  Akeredolu Renames Monument After MKO

The Ondo State governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu SAN, on Monday renamed the popular Democracy Park in Akure, the state capital after the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 Presidential election, Chief M.K.O Abiola.

Akeredolu made this known while speaking at the Cultural and Event Center in Akure, as part of activities to commemorate the June 12 celebration in the state.
The governor, who had earlier declared June 12 as public holiday in the state, said the decision to honour and immortalize MKO by naming the Democracy Park after him was taken in the interest of the state.
According to the governor, the gesture was the least that could be done to immortalize Abiola, a man whose sacrifice bequeathed the current democratic order to the country.
The governor condemned those fanning the ember of disunity in the country and asked the Federal Government to prosecute those making inflammatory statements about the disintegration of the country.
Akeredolu said all ethnic militia should be disbanded and anybody that engaged in criminality must be prosecuted.
His word, “What started as agitations designed to curry attention by some irritants, now threatens to tear this country apart if the government fails to rein in the excesses of the unscrupulous elements.
“College drop-outs, upgraded street urchins, semi-literate simpletons and all manner of cretins desperate for attention, issue ultimatums and threats.
“The attitude of indulgence and sometimes, encouragement, noticeable on the part of political leaders and the so called leaders of thought, and the deplorable nonchalant disposition of government at both the state and federal levels, has emboldened these hustlers in recent times. The proliferation of these groups with nebulous ideas is a security risk.”
Akeredolu said nobody would be evicted from any part of the country, despite the threats of eviction, saying, “Is it not shameful that while we all condemn xenophobic attacks in South Africa and other places, we are unable to live with one another? In whose interest are the exigent calls for political restructuring without considering the economic potentials and inputs of virtually all regions that have been rendered parasitic and unproductive by an avaricious and untoward generation?
“What exactly, other than parochialism, propelled by greed, is pushing certain characters to overheat the polity?  How educated are we, when we exhibit abysmal ignorance, confusing immediate location as evidence of origin? What forms the foundation of our avowed religiosity with such hypocritical display of piety?
“We discriminate against ourselves and still regard the idea of emanation from one Demiurge, God, as valid? We will continue to face the challenges of nationhood. We will disagree. We will shout at one another. In the end, we must look for middle ground to strike the realistic balance for peaceful co-existence. No group of disgruntled persons must be permitted much leeway that encourages reckless outbursts.
“This country is too important to be allowed to drift towards anarchy. There are challenges, no doubt. Certain parts may feel excluded in some respects. There are genuine reasons for serious anxieties. But the solution to the multifarious problems in the land cannot be disintegration. Most of those who fan the ember of disunity were not born during the last civil war which claimed the lives of millions of our citizens. The mischievous elements who participated in the confusion of those days will not encourage their own children to take up arms.
“We use this medium to call on the Federal Government to deal with this menace swiftly and decisively. All self-appointed groups, such as IPOB, MASSOB, AREWA, OPC, MEND among others, and as many as may be planning to engage in criminality, while arrogating to themselves the exclusive wisdom to determine what is in the best interest of various ethnic groups in the country must be sanctioned accordingly.”