Jamiu Abiola has stated that Nigeria lost a major opportunity for economic growth when the 1993 election result was annulled. He said if his father, Chief MKO Abiola, had been allowed to lead the country, Nigeria would have tapped into the international economic boom of the 1990s. Speaking during a Democracy Day forum on Channels Television, Jamiu said, “Nigeria would have been better because, at that time, it was a very special time in global times.” His remarks have reignited conversation around the Nigeria lost economic growth after MKO Abiola’s annulled victory.
MKO Abiola’s Annulled Victory Cost Nigeria Development, Says Son
Jamiu Abiola described the annulment of his father’s election as a setback for national progress. He explained that the country missed a global wave of growth in 1993 because of the military government’s actions. “What did we get in return?” he asked. “We got a kleptomaniac as head of state.”
Jamiu, who now serves as a senior adviser to President Bola Tinubu, also criticised what he sees as a deliberate attempt to erase his father’s legacy. He said, “I realised that my father’s name was becoming like a memory… people were hellbent on rewriting the history of Nigeria without him.”
Jamiu Defends Father’s Legacy, Recalls Historical Injustice
To push back against this erasure, Jamiu wrote a book titled “The President Who Never Ruled” in 2015. He said many foreign leaders who visit Nigeria often ignore Abiola’s role in shaping the country’s democratic journey. He added that those who annulled his father’s victory wanted to “shave his head in his absence.”
He acknowledged that former President Muhammadu Buhari tried to correct this by posthumously honouring MKO Abiola in 2018 and officially declaring June 12 as Democracy Day. However, the Nigeria lost economic growth after MKO Abiola’s annulled victory remains a bitter memory.
Nigeria Lost Economic Growth After MKO Abiola’s Annulled Victory — Son
The view that Nigeria lost economic growth after MKO Abiola’s annulled victory has become more widely accepted over time. Jamiu Abiola’s statement on Democracy Day has reignited debate about how different Nigeria’s story could have been if the 1993 election had not been cancelled. He believes his father’s absence from history has delayed Nigeria’s rise, both politically and economically.
