A top member of National Association of Political Correspondents (NAPOC) in the 80s and 90s, Dr. Tayo Popoola, has criticised the list of eminent Nigerians recently honoured by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the heroic roles they played in the June 12 struggle, saying “the President should add more deserving individuals”.
Speaking after perusing the honours list, Popoola, who was one of the 18 journalists who covered the late Basorun Abiola’s campaign throughout the nation during his electioneering campaign, expressed dismay that the list excluded the name of Senator Anthony Adefuye, Basorun Abiola’s campaign agent at the Jos 1992 convention of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP).
While describing Adefuye as an unrepentant June 12 activist till date, Popoola added that for history and record purposes, all the names of eminent Nigerians who fought for the revalidation of the June 12, 1993 election should be listed in the hall of fame.
Popoola, the author of Adefuye’s biography titled “The Man, Sen Tony Adefuye,” chronicled the activities of the former senator representing the Lagos East Senatorial District, Anthony Adefuye, during this turbulent period in Nigeria’s history in chapter six of the book.
According to Popoola, Senator Adefuye was at the forefront of agitation for the revalidation of the results of the June 12 elections. Writing of Adefuye’s travails as he mounted an aggressive campaign for the late politician, Popoola added that he remained a close associate of Abiola through his ordeal, including during his political imprisonment. He noted that Adefuye was one of the 50 with whom Abiola corresponded through personal notes before his death.
The biographer, who is also a Mass Communication lecturer at the University of Lagos, said that Adefuye joined forces with other progressive-minded individuals to courageously demand a reversal of the annulment by Babangida. His resoluteness in support of Abiola’s mandate while others changed tune attracted attention from the successor military regime of Abacha, resulting in numerous attempts at his life, many of which he was lucky to have survived.
Speaking of his plight during the Abacha years in the biography, Adefuye said:
“The Abacha years disrupted so many of my plans in life. Since then, I have struggled to recover.”
The university don acknowledged the roles the 66 individuals honoured by President Bola Tinubu played in the June 12 struggle as well as successive struggles for broader democratic freedoms. However, he joined other Nigerians in calling for the addition of more iconic Nigerians, such as Adefuye, who also played vital roles in the fight for the June 12 revalidation, a pivotal period in the rebirth of Nigeria’s nascent democracy.
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