A flare of rage was seething among the children of the late democracy icon, MKO Abiola following the Sunday comparison by Hafsat of Governor Yahaya Bello to their dad.
Hafsat, who is the Director-General of the Yahaya Bello Presidential Campaign, had in a statement asserted that she was pleased to manage the campaign on the strength of similarities between the Kogi governor and the deceased politician.
Hasfat Abiola had drawn one of the similarities between Yahaya Bello and her dad as the fact that both men refused to have godfathers.
In her words: “Nigerians must be given the free hand to choose their leaders. That is the meaning of democracy. My father did not contest to represent zoning interest. His interest was Nigeria and Nigeria alone, These are the same qualities I have seen in the Kogi governor.. “He dared to contest, not minding that he was from a minority tribe in Kogi and won, and he has come out again. My father did the same, when it was believed that a Yoruba man could not be President”, she added.
However, some of the late MKO Abiola’s children were in rage over the comparison, one of whom was Tundun Abiola, an anchor at the popular Arise TV programme, The Morning Show.
Tundun Abiola was in rage during the programme as she issued a stern warning to her sister to keep their dad’s name out of her politics, stating that MKO Abiola’s name should not be abused in such manner as it does not belong to one person but the entire MKO Abiola generation.
She further added that the comparison was false and further warned politicians to stop using her dad’s name to score point.
Tundun Abiola who said the comparison was “staggeringly inappropriate,” for the children, said: “I am referring to my half sister who is the DG of Yahaya Bello’s campaign and her making comparisons to my dad. I mean, they are lots of political players in his team not one of them feels the need to throw their father under the bus for the sake of their principal. Come out and talk about your principal, his antecedent, his stand for the future of Nigeria and leave daddy out of it”.
“Come out and talk about your principal, his antecedents, his plans for the future of Nigeria and leave daddy out of it. It is not her right, not her name.
“It is our name and it is also the name of future generations of Abiola yet unborn who should be proud of the legacy,” said an enraged Ms Abiola.
Noting that that Hafsat Abiola’s assertion was a ridicule to the memory of their beloved father who suffered torture before he got murdered.
“My father was tortured because United Nations (UN) consider solitary confinement as torture. He was tortured and then murdered and has left this legacy only for it to be abused in this manner,” Ms Abiola said.
“It’s not her right, cause it’s not her name, it is our name and it is also the name of future generation of Abiola yet unborn who should be part of the legacy,” she added.
