MKO: President Bola Tinubu attends the national premiere of Ose Oyamendan’s documentary on Moshood Abiola and the June 12 pro-democracy struggle.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, accompanied by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, on Thursday attended the national premiere of MKO, a documentary chronicling the life, political journey and legacy of the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola and the struggle that followed the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
The premiere was held at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts in Lagos as part of activities marking Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary. The documentary, directed by Nigerian-American filmmaker Ose Oyamendan, is scheduled for nationwide cinema release on October 2.
The film revisits Abiola’s political career, the annulment of the June 12 election by the military government, his subsequent detention and the pro-democracy campaign that followed.
MKO previously had its international premiere at the Sheffield International Documentary Festival in the United Kingdom in June 2026. It features archival material and accounts from prominent figures connected to the events, including former military leaders Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka and Abiola’s running mate, Baba Gana Kingibe.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, led guests at the premiere in observing a minute’s silence for Nigerians who died or suffered persecution, detention, exile and other forms of repression during the struggle for the restoration of democratic rule.
Onanuga said the sacrifices of pro-democracy activists, journalists, lawyers, students, workers, academics and Nigerians in the diaspora should not be forgotten.
He specifically recognised figures associated with the pro-democracy struggle, including Chief Anthony Enahoro, Pa Adekunle Ajasin, Senator Abraham Adesanya, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti, Pa Alfred Rewane, Chief Frank Kokori, Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, Commodore Dan Suleiman, Chima Ubani, Chief Bola Ige, Senator Cornelius Adebayo, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Alhaji Balarabe Musa and other activists and members of pro-democracy organisations.
He also paid tribute to journalists and media organisations that continued reporting on the June 12 struggle despite arrests, seizures of publications and other restrictions.
Onanuga said the documentary would serve both as a tribute to Abiola and as a reminder of the sacrifices made by Nigerians who demanded respect for the outcome of the June 12 election.
He said the documentary also offered an opportunity for younger Nigerians to understand a significant chapter in the country’s democratic history.
The Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, said MKO documents the events surrounding the June 12 election, its annulment, Abiola’s arrest in 1994 and his death in detention in 1998.
Musawa described the documentary as a tribute to the people who sacrificed for the June 12 mandate and Nigeria’s subsequent return to democratic rule.
She stressed the importance of preserving accounts of the period so that younger generations could understand the circumstances surrounding one of the defining episodes in Nigeria’s political history.
The minister also urged Nigerians to protect the country’s democratic institutions and ensure that the will of the electorate is respected.
The premiere attracted senior government officials and other prominent personalities, including Senate President Godswill Akpabio; Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas; Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq; Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun; Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang; and Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Others at the event included Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment Jumoke Oduwole; Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation Joseph Utsev; members of the National Assembly; former Ogun State Governor Olusegun Osoba; and other guests.
The documentary’s producer, Ose Oyamendan, thanked the President and other individuals and organisations that supported the project.
Oyamendan recalled interviewing Tinubu when he was a senator in 1992 and expressed appreciation for the President’s support for the documentary.
The filmmaker had previously said the documentary was intended to revisit the June 12 experience through archival footage and testimonies from people connected to the events.
MKO is expected to contribute to the preservation of Nigeria’s political history and provide younger Nigerians with an opportunity to examine the events, personalities and sacrifices associated with the country’s democratic transition.
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