A significant player in the fight for the June 12 election’s revalidation, Prof. Odion Akhaine, expresses dissatisfaction over the leaders of today’s Nigeria for failing to uphold the principles of June 12. According to Vanguard, by sharing his own account of sacrifice made during the June 12 battle, he emphasizes the critical role civil society played in bringing democracy to the nation.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
Akhaine stated the distinction between social movements and NGOs within civil society, noting that genuine social movements are driven by grassroots activism and not influenced by external funders.
He reminisces about the Campaign for Democracy (CD) and its grassroots nature, where individuals contributed from their own pockets to fund the organization’s activities. He pays tribute to the late Beko Ransome-Kuti, a prominent activist who provided his house as an office for the movement and faced repeated detentions as a result of his activism.
In his words: “People didn’t know the Campaign for Democracy, CD, didn’t receive any funding from outside during that period. People funded the organisation through their personal pockets. Beko Ransome-Kuti gave us his house to use as an office. We all know what happened to Beko.
“He was detained severally and he eventually died. You need a life and death matter to wake people up from slumber to come together to fight bad governance in the country. “CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>