Vice President Kashim Shettima has said history returned the baton of Nigeria’s democratic struggle to one of the late Moshood Abiola’s most trusted allies, President Bola Tinubu, decades after the annulled June 12, 1993, election.
 
Speaking yesterday at the public lecture marking Nigeria’s 26th Democracy Day, at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, Shettima said Tinubu’s emergence as President represented a poetic continuity of the vision and sacrifice championed by Abiola.
 
Representing President Tinubu at the event, the Vice President said: “Hope was one thing they could not extinguish from Abiola’s life. It is this abiding faith in Abiola’s vision that continues to renew our national hope in the great theatre of providence. 
 
“History has returned the baton to one of Abiola’s most trusted lieutenants in the struggle for the soul of democracy in Nigeria, President Tinubu,” he declared.
 
Shettima described Abiola as a patriot who gave everything, including his life, to restore democratic rule in Nigeria, and “whose legacy continues to shape the nation’s political conscienc.”  
 
He emphasised that Abiola’s dream did not die with him but lives on as a collective resolve to uphold truth, justice and the sanctity of the ballot.
 
“The ticket once denied to Nigerians, the Abiola-Kingibe ticket, has found resonance in the Tinubu-Shettima Presidency. Tinubu has kept the democratic flame alive through fire and storm,” Shettima said. “He has kept faith with the covenant of building a Nigeria that works for all, reaching across political divides, ethnic lines and generational barriers.”
 
Acknowledging the contributions of countless unsung heroes, Shettima said the burden of democracy is not one man’s alone. “We all must rise to defend it, build a fortress around it, an edifice no force of anarchy can breach, even in imagination,” he urged.
 
The VP called on all Nigerians to support Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, stressing that the mission to institutionalise good governance and deepen democratic roots “requires broad-based commitment”.
 
Earlier in his remarks, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Sen George Akume, paid tribute to Nigeria’s pro-democracy icons and praised their sacrifices. He called on stakeholders and citizens to recommit to the ideals of democracy by supporting efforts to build a more prosperous, peaceful, and secure Nigeria .
 
Delivering the keynote, a respected scholar and political scientist, Prof Sam Egwu, emphasised the need for sustained commitment from both leaders and citizens to consolidate Nigeria’s democratic gains.
 
“Democracy anywhere in the world requires dedication,” Egwu said. “For Nigeria to reap its dividends, public officials must place the collective good above personal ambition.”
 
In his goodwill message, the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps and Cameroonian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Amb Salaheddine Ibrahim, commended Nigeria’s resilience and unity despite challenges. He urged continued vigilance in defending democracy.
 
Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo, highlighted the significance of June 12, noting it as a symbol of Nigeria’s hard-fought democratic evolution. He called for active participation from all citizens, stressing that democracy thrives not on ceremonies but on shared responsibility.
 
The event was capped by the unveiling of three new books chronicling the Tinubu administration’s reforms and leadership ethos: Tinubunomics, Leading with Courage and Turning Challenges into Opportunities.