Nigeria Would Be In Better Shape If My Father Had Been President – Jamiu Abiola

Jamiu Abiola, son of the late Chief MKO Abiola, has stated that Nigeria’s economic situation would have significantly improved had his father been allowed to take office following the annulled 1993 presidential election.

He made this remark on Thursday during Channels Television’s June 12 Special Forum, commemorating 26 years of uninterrupted democratic governance in Nigeria.

“Nigeria would have fared much better,” he said. “That period in 1993 was marked by global economic growth, and we could have taken advantage of that momentum. Instead, we ended up with a kleptocratic regime. I won’t delve into Sani Abacha’s tenure — his record speaks for itself.”

Jamiu, currently serving as Senior Special Adviser on Linguistics and Foreign Affairs to President Bola Tinubu, also expressed concern over ongoing efforts to diminish his father's legacy decades after the historic election was nullified and years after MKO's passing.

“In 2015, I authored The President Who Never Ruled because I noticed my father’s memory was fading from public discourse, and there was an active attempt to rewrite Nigerian history without acknowledging him,” he said.

“Foreign leaders would visit Nigeria and recognize figures like Yar’Adua, but omit Chief MKO Abiola. It felt like an intentional erasure — like trying to shave a man’s head in his absence,” he added.

In a symbolic gesture in 2018, former President Muhammadu Buhari posthumously conferred the title of Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (GCFR) on MKO Abiola and declared June 12 as Democracy Day — a decision widely seen as long overdue.