In this piece, Director General of Peter Obi Campaign Organisation, Dr Doyin Okupe clears the air on his role in the June 12 saga…
Yesterday some ignorant young men tried to disparage me by classifying me as one of those who promoted or sided with the perpetrators of June 12.
This to me was an exceptionally sad development and evil rhetoric against my person, honour and integrity.
The facts:
I was not the National Publicity Secretary of the NRC at the time of June 12. Neither was Chief Tom Ikimi the chairman of that party in that period.
I served as Director of Communications for the Bashir Tofa campaign organisation.
When Abiola’s election was annulled and the NRC was cajoled to support the decision by the then military administration, I resigned my membership of the party publicly. An action that was widely publicised in the Nigerian media.
While my colleagues in the NRC were offered ministerial positions and lucrative government appointments, I willfully turned my back on such opportunities and the establishment itself and went to team up with the Progressives with whom I had very different political inclinations and views. I was united with them only by the fact that an injustice had been done to Abiola and his mandate and I felt strongly that it must be corrected. I became the youngest member and only conservative politician in the National caucus of the famous NADECO.
When Abiola went on self exile abroad, I was with him all through. It was late Prof Agbalajobi and I, serving as his political aides, that saw him last every night after everyone else had left while he was in London.
After he declared himself as President, at Epetedo in Lagos, I was with him at his residence in ikeja. There were only 4 of us with him that fateful night. Kudirat Abiola, kola abiola , who left later, Barr. Fred Agbeyegbe and myself.
Bola Tinubu called MKO at a little past 10pm and informed him that he had intelligence report that the military was coming to arrest him by midnight. This was an info that the US state department had earlier informed Abiola also via a phone call in our presence. He was arrested that night. Details of the arrest and events are in my book, DOUBLE JEOPARDY in the June 12 chapter.
I was personally arrested and detained in an isolation cell, with no windows in the DSS building in Abuja for 16 days because of my links with NADECO.
It is grieving and sad when in spite of all of the above uninformed people label me as anti June12.
I never made a public issue of this activities of mine because I consider it immoral to seek to get fame or popularity on the blood of a slain and Fallen Hero.
However, because of my personal honour and pedigree, which clearly amounts to nothing in Nigeria of today, I have never been found wanting where defence of justice, equity and intergrity are concerned in all my political life.