Activist and author Jumoke Ogunkeyede has recounted an encounter involving prominent American religious leader Louis Farrakhan during the period when Nigerian businessman and politician Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, popularly known as M. K. O. Abiola, was imprisoned following the annulled 1993 Nigerian presidential election.
Ogunkeyede made the disclosure during an interview on the State Affairs with Edmund Obilo Show hosted by Edmund Obilo, where he discussed experiences documented in his memoir titled A Moment in Time: A Life Experience in the Art of Survival, Politics, Humanity and Activism. The activist reflected on his involvement in pro-democracy efforts during one of the most turbulent periods in Nigeria’s political history.
According to Ogunkeyede, he and some colleagues became close to Farrakhan at the time Abiola was detained by the Nigerian authorities. Abiola, widely believed to have won the 1993 election, was arrested after declaring himself president following the military government’s decision to annul the poll.
Recounting the episode, Ogunkeyede said they entrusted Farrakhan with a letter intended for Abiola during his detention.
“At a point we becmse very close with him when Chief MKO Abiola was incarcerated in Nigeria. He was locked up after the 1993 election. We gave him letter to give to MKO Abiola in jail which he did but by the time he came back, Nigerian thing had gotten to him,” Ogunkeyede said.
The activist’s remarks provide a glimpse into the international connections and advocacy efforts that surrounded the campaign for Abiola’s release during the pro-democracy struggle of the 1990s. The annulment of the 1993 election triggered widespread protests and political unrest across the country, eventually becoming a defining moment in Nigeria’s transition back to democratic governance…..See More
Leave a Reply