Retired Colonel Abubakar Dangiwa Umar has written an open letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, commending the President’s public recognition of military officers who served during the June 12, 1993 pro-democracy struggle.
In the letter dated after the Democracy Day address of June 12, 2026, Col. Umar thanked Tinubu for reading out the names of some Nigerian Armed Forces officers during the national broadcast.
He said the recognition was “fit and proper” for citizens who “put their lives on the line” to redress the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
“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,” Umar wrote.
Col. Umar described June 12 as a “watershed moment in our march to democracy” and said its annual celebration is “richly deserved.” He noted that because the event is annual, other military and civilian heroes, living or deceased, who deserve recognition will be identified and honored in due time.
The retired officer reacted to Tinubu’s remark that Nigeria’s democracy remains “a work-in-progress, particularly as it relates to providing security for citizens.”
Col. Umar said the officers who fought in 1993 took national security as a “raison d’être, a minimum condition for the existence of any government, democracy or not,” adding that “if national security is missing, that would be the end of the discussion; nothing else matters.”
He reminded the President of other ideals that motivated the June 12 struggle: separation of powers, an independent and impartial judiciary, a truly independent electoral umpire, economic policies that safeguard citizens’ welfare, and a robust war against poverty.
“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,” Umar stated.
He urged Tinubu to ensure those ideals become the “cornerstone of your national policies” so that the sacrifices made during the June 12 struggle do not go in vain.
Col. Umar, a former military governor of Kaduna State, was a prominent voice in the pro-June 12 movement and has continued to advocate for democratic accountability in Nigeria.
