NRM PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE ESTHER OKEREKE SAYS DEMOCRACY IS IN DISTRESS
Read Time:2 Minute, 6 Second
By: Muftau Fatimo
Esther Okereke, the presidential candidate of the National Rescue Movement (NRM), has said that June 12 should not be treated as just another date on the calendar.
Okereke emphasized that 33 years ago, Nigerians from all tribes and faiths united not for a political party, but for a shared vision.
The presidential hopeful spoke in a statement released to mark the June 12 Democracy Day.
She stated that Chief MKO Abiola, Kudirat Abiola, China Ubani, Gani Fawehinmi, Beko Ransom-Kuti, and countless unnamed Nigerian student leaders, journalists, and civil rights activists who faced the threat of violence did not sacrifice their lives for mere rhetoric, but for a Nigeria where children can learn without fear, mothers can heal without begging, and young men can find employment without relying on connections.
“If we forget them, we dishonor their memory. Therefore, today we remember. However, remembrance without action is merely lamentation. And Nigeria has grown weary of lamenting,” she expressed in a statement she personally signed on Friday.
My fellow citizens, I will not deceive you. Democracy is in distress,” she continued.
“The court you seek for justice may sometimes fail to deliver it. The vote you cast in hope may sometimes vanish along the way. The market where a mother sells garri sees her profits consumed by inflation before the day ends.
“Having 100 million Nigerians living in poverty is not just a statistic. That is my neighbor. That is the orphan I assisted last week. That is you and me! If I stand here and pretend that everything is fine, I would be lying.
Nigeria can prosper again, she said, but not through miracles—rather through hard work and determination. She stressed that hope is not wishful thinking but a deliberate choice, adding that she had already made her own decision and urged others to do the same.
“I am not asking for your blood. I am asking for your commitment today, just one more sacrifice. To the youth: do not flee Nigeria; instead, flee from fear. Your skills in coding, your music, your entrepreneurial spirit — that is the new oil.
“To the civil servants: serve with pride once again.”
To Nigerians in the diaspora, she urged a return home, not out of sympathy, but as partners bringing collective determination.
“My fellow Nigerians, the heroes of June 12 did not give their lives so that we would waste time arguing on social media. They made sacrifices so that we could work together meaningfully,” she said.
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