It was a fine Saturday morning on June 12, 1993 at Abeokuta, home town of Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola. My mother, a budding career journalist as at then was excited to cover the events from that day and it was also going to be her first time to vote in a national election. Nigeria didn’t offer her citizens the chance to vote regularly back then, before 1993, the last time there was a national election in Nigeria was 1983. Queues were already up before NEC (National Electoral Commission) officials could get to polling centers, not just because the people felt a personal connection to MKO Abiola because that’s his home town — observers reported that this was also the same attitude in almost all other polling centers nationwide. At Ibara housing estate, where my mother was moving freely and optimistic about the day, there I was- in her belly- as a four month old fetus happy to be graduating into my second trimester in my mother’s womb.
Little did most people know that the unsuspecting June 12 of 1993 will go ahead to become an important date in Nigeria — if not the most important day for issues pertaining to democracy.
This post isn’t about my mother and her hopeful self on June 12 of 1993 or me being a fetus yet to be birthed. Rather it’s about the man, people, action and inactions synonymous with “June 12” in Nigeria.
Having secured. the SDP’s presidential ticket in 1992, Abiola chose Babagana Kingibe ( a decision he’ll later claim to regret) as his running mate and was ready to face Bashir Tofa of NRC as his opponent. It’ll be important to point that both candidates were Muslims, MKO — a multi millionaire business man from the South West and Tofa (relatively unknown when compared to Abiola) from the North West. Also interesting to note that Abiola and his running mate Kingibe was a Muslim — Muslim ticket (this was pointed out to show that we really don’t / won’t care if two peas from the same pod. decide to run on a joint ticket for national office as long as they are perceived to be efficient leaders). They sold “Hope 93” to Nigerians and tbh, lotsa Nigerians bought it.
Before the infamous annulment of this election, it’s germane we discuss an important buildup that was later cited by Ibrahim Badamosi Babaginda as the reason he annulled the results. Arthur Nzeribe (popular Nigerian billionaire) led the Association of Better Nigeria Group (you honestly don’t need extra sense to figure that this was a group that’s basically made up of elites and rich friends of those in military government) to get the famous late night ex parte motion from late Justice Bassey Ikpene by 11pm just few hours before Election Day. NEC (National Electoral Commission) ignored this injunction and went ahead to conduct the election as slated. Polling over 8 million national votes, winning all south western states, 3 of the seven states in the south east, five of the 9 northern states including Kano where his opponent Tofa was from, Humphrey Nwosu who was NEC’s boss then was already announcing collated results from the elections (this was on the 14th of June 1993). On June 15, 1993 the Nzeribe led group got another injunction to stop the collation and announcement of results by NEC, unlike the previous one gotten before the election, NEC accepted and abided with this new injunction.
That’s how the June 12 election of 1993 judged as the best in Nigeria till date in terms of credibility, fairness, national participation, relative peace and calmness became the starting point of the fight of Nigeria’s democracy. The clamor / fight shifted from being vested in few political elites, acclaimed academias and activists alone to the common men and women of Nigeria. Masses couldn’t take the injustice and unfairness being dished out by the federal government even though it’s a military one, protests started in all corners of the country, the international community had to step in too. Naturally, MKO Abiola, the obvious winner of the annulled election rejected the annulment and later declared himself the president of Nigeria in June, 1994, a year after he was denied his mandate. This led to his arrest and detention by the Abacha led military government who had staged a palace coup to oust the interim civilian government of Ernest Shonekan.
It is also important to list some known enablers of the mess and those involved in deliberate attempt to truncate the birth of democracy in Nigeria as at 1993, more pertinent is that some of these people are now parading themselves as reformed democrats or upholders of democracy. Which honestly isn’t a bad thing in itself, but it’s vital people know what they have done in previous years. People like Ibrahim Badamosi Babaginda, Sani Abacha, Justice Dahiru Sale, Babagana Kingibe, Arthur Nzeribe, David Mark etc. List of people that benefited from the ill events of 1993 include but aren’t limited to Olusegun Obasanjo, Ernest Shonekan, Abdusalam Abubakar, Muhammad Buhari, Toni Anenih etc. it’ll however be unfair not to mention some notable allies that gave their all to the birth of democracy in Nigeria from 1993; Madam Kudirat Abiola, Chima Ubani, Bagauda Kaito, B. Aturu, Gani Fawehenmi, Dr. R. Kuti, Oronto Douglas, Ndubisi Kanu, Anthony Enahoro, Dan Sulaimon, Alfred Rewane, Kayode Fayemi, Sheu Sani, Olisa Agbakogba etc. Some of these people had to pay the price with their lives. Beyond these people, beyond MKO Abiola himself, the thousands of men and women from all parts of the country that took the events of June 12 as theirs, formed groups, laid their lives and fought to defend the beginning of something worthy they believed in and created — the student union members, informal skilled workers, the Press and other organized formal. workers etc. These are the real heroes of democracy in Nigeria.
Yes, Nigeria’s democracy is really young and can get better, but everyday this country shows you how much it consciously disregards effort put in. to ensure proper democracy. Bar stability of “civilian” rule since. 1999, I’m not sure we can point to sustainable dividends of democracy in this entity known as Nigeria today.
Kindly drop your comments and critique below.
-Okikiola.
