Olusegun Adeniyi: Why there’d be no public presentation of ‘The Ghost of June 12’

Olusegun Adeniyi, a former presidential spokesperson, says his latest book, ‘The Ghost of June 12’, will be released on Monday.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Adeniyi said the book, which compiles four of his previously published titles on Nigeria’s transition to civil rule, is targeted at Nigerians unfamiliar with the military era and the significance of June 12, a date now marked as Democracy Day in Nigeria.

Adeniyi served as spokesperson to late President Umaru Yar’Adua and currently chairs the editorial board of ThisDay newspaper.

His books, including ‘Power, Politics and Death’ and ‘Against the Run of Play’, have shaped public discourse around governance and political accountability in Nigeria.

The author and columnist explained that although he occasionally holds reading events to sign copies and draw attention to his books, he deliberately chose not to host one for ‘The Ghost of June 12’ to avoid politicising it.

“Ordinarily, I don’t launch my book because I believe the whole idea of ‘launching books’ debases writing which I consider to be a serious business,” he said.

“On THE GHOST OF JUNE 12, I decided to compile the four books into one because we have a generation that do not know what Nigerians went through under the military or what the whole ‘June 12’ story is all about.

“But in publishing the book, I do not want to create a platform where politicians would come and be making false claims or attacking some of the military actors of the era.”

Adeniyi said the book will be available in bookstores on Monday, as well as on Amazon and Kindle.

The June 12, 1993 election, widely regarded as the freest and fairest in Nigeria’s history, was won by MKO Abiola.

It was annulled by the military regime of Ibrahim Babangida, plunging the country into political turmoil and sparking years of civil agitation.

Abiola was later detained by military ruler Sani Abacha after declaring himself president.

He died in custody in 1998, a month after Abacha’s death.

In 2018, the Muhammadu Buhari administration declared June 12 a national holiday and posthumously conferred Abiola with the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR) honour.