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Former Military Governor of Kaduna State, Dangiwa Umar, has written an open letter to President Bola Tinubu, commending him for honouring the heroes of the June 12 struggle while delivering a stark reminder of the unfulfilled promises of Nigeria’s democratic journey.

In the letter, Mr Umar expressed appreciation to the President for publicly recognising the military officers and civilians who risked their lives to fight the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election.

However, Mr Umar, a retired colonel, quickly pivoted from praise to a sobering critique of the nation’s current trajectory, urging the administration to address pressing national crises, particularly insecurity and poverty, urgently.

Below is the letter from the former governor

AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT,

BOLA AHMED TINUBU, GCFR.

DEAR MR PRESIDENT

Appreciation For Your Recognition of Services Rendered to Democracy by Officers of the Nigerian Armed Forces During the June 12 Struggle.

I wish to offer my profound appreciation for your public recognition of the services rendered by some officers of the Nigerian Armed Forces whose names were read out during your Democracy Day Address on the 12th of June, 2026. This subject matter formed part of the issues contained in my public statement on a similar occasion last year. It is indeed fit and proper that citizens who put their lives on the line in the struggle to redress the injustice of the annulment of the presidential election of June 12th, 1993 are publicly recognized.

I must also thank you for honoring other non-military heroes mentioned in your address who made various sacrifices to upturn the ill advised annulment of that election. It is hard to overstate this fact, Mr President, that June 12th is a watershed moment in our march to democracy and its annual celebration is richly deserved. Still, because this is an annual event, I am sure other people, military, civilian, living or non-living, who deserve similar recognition but haven’t yet received it, will be duly identified and honored in due time.

In the course of your address, Mr President, you acknowledged that the democracy we have today is still a work-in-progress, particularly as it relates to providing security for our citizens. Many people do not know what to make of this statement: were you displaying some humility or despairing of the task?

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What those officers envisaged when they put their lives on the line back in 1993, were, for want of better word, ambitious. In fact they took the security of our citizens as given; a raison de’tre, a minimum condition for the existence of any government, democracy or not. If national security is missing, that would be the end of the discussion; nothing else matters. Nothing!

And, while we are at this, Mr President, allow me to remind you about what else motivated the officers back then. They craved for a democracy that included its most basic features; separation of powers, independent and impartial judiciary that would dispense justice untainted by partisan or primitive considerations, a truly independent electoral umpire that guarantees free and fair elections, economic policies that safeguard citizens’ welfare as well as productivity.

They also pinned their hopes on a robust war against poverty, especially among the hapless masses at the bottom of the social pyramid. Mr President, as a long standing advocate of equity, equality, transparency and inclusion, many of us saw no reason to doubt your commitment towards a better future and a renewed hope for all Nigerians as enshrined in chapter two of our Constitution.

So, in order that the sacrifices that those officers and other Nigerians made towards the achievement of the June 12th struggle do not go in vain, I advocate that those ideals become once again the cornerstone of your national policies.

We thank you Mr President.

Please accept the assurances of our deepest regards.

Colonel Abubakar Dangiwa Umar (Rtd)