29 years after June 12: Same old songs of corruption, unemployment, poor infrastructure

ADEOLA OTEMADE reports that from the aborted Third Republic till today, the same issues that politicians promise to fix remain largely recycled and unresolved, even as the nation remains stagnated.

Exactly this day, 29 years ago, Nigerians went to the poll to elect a president in what later came to be known as the freest and fairest election in the history of the country. The late MoshoodKashimawoOlawaleAbiola contested on the platform of the Social Democratic Party while his opponent, Bashir Tofa contested on the platform on the National Republican Convention.

The whole nation was later to be in shock when the counting was stopped and the election annulled with Abiola clearly in the lead. Then Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida, had no clear-cut reason for annulling the election but agreed to step aside on August 28 of that year, after which the late Ernest Shonekan led an Interim National Government. He would later be overthrown in a coup three months later.

In Abiola’s campaign during that election tagged ‘Hope 93’, many promises were made. Some of these promises included creation of more jobs, better health infrastructure, better power supply, food security and enhances educational system. Though those promises raised the hope of many Nigerians, they however died with the annulment.

Twenty-nine years later many Nigerians could still recall how the election brought along so much hope for a better Nigeria. However, after more than a quarter of a century, good governance was yet o b e achieved and the campaign promises of MKO Abiola remain the major planks of campaign promises of politicians seeking political offices, meaning that nothing has changed in practical terms and as far as democracy is concerned.

Why things have remained the same

Speaking with Sunday Tribune, Mr Ifeanyi  Nrialike, a lawyer, recounted his experience as an undergraduate during the 1993 election, noting that Nigeria could have been a better country if Abiola had lived to form a government.

“I remember June 12, 1993 like yesterday. Hope ‘93. As an undergraduate, Chief MKO Abiola came with so many promises. Nigeria for once, got it right but the powers that-be then led by General Ibrahim Babangida did not allow it to be. I sincerely believe that had our collective decision in electing Abiola been respected, Nigeria could have been a better country today. The late Chief Abiola’s election defied religious and ethnic barriers. Abiola was Yoruba, with (Babagana) Kingibe, a Northern Muslim as running mate. The ticket was unique being a Muslim-Muslim ticket, but Nigerians did not mind.

“Nigeria was so unified in its acceptance of Abiola and our hope of good administration such that Abiola defeated Bashir Tofa in Kano State where he hailed from and won key northern states like Jigawa, Kaduna, Borno, among others. Sylvester Ugo who was his home state. Notwithstanding that Ugo was Igbo, Abiola won in Anambra. Nigeria got it right and assuming we continued on that road, by now we would have been getting to the Promised Land. Abiola’s government, I believed could have set a bar for good leadership not only in Nigeria, but Africa as a whole.

“Our kids who are supposed to be in school in the universities are currently at home due to ASUU strike. Nothing is working. It is heart-rending. The bar to leadership has been so reduced. We are therefore not moving forward. It has been (a story of retrogression) since then. By annulling the June 12, 1993 election, Nigeria snuffed life out of good governance, better education for our children, and better future for our children. Everything is looking despondent. We must do something and fast too; let Abiola’s death, in fighting for Nigeria, not to be in vain,” Nrialike said.

Lamenting the state of the nation and why things have remained static, political analyst and lecturer at ObafemiAwolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Dr. Usman Solomon Ayegba, while speaking with Sunday Tribune noted that none of Chief Abiola’s campaign promises has been fulfilled, noting that the current situation in the country is far worse than  what obtained in 1993.

Speaking further, Dr Ayegba said: “Honestly, none of Chief Abiola campaign promises sequel to the annulled 1993 presidential election has been fulfilled. In fact, I dare say that situations today are worse compared to what they were at that time. Any wonder that you hear people talk about the glorious past of the country. Is it unemployment or inflation or steady fall in value of the Naira to the US Dollar or collapsed infrastructure or poverty that SDP promised to banish that has abated? None! Virtually all the known challenges during Abiola’s campaign have exacerbated on proportions that portend national tragedies.

“Do we start to mention corruption and state capture by the petit comprador bourgeoisie that have alienated many suffering Nigerians, leading to the state of insecurity and uncertainty that has engulfed the entire landscape of the country? Today, gates of public universities in Nigeria have been closed since February with no serious commitment to opening them soonest, as all our politicians are preoccupied with 2023 elections.

“Though, there were ASUU strikes in the time past, their just demands to save the soul of public university education in the country today were not treated with levity like government is currently treating them. To tell you, even dispensaries and consulting clinics are better equipped than our (reference) hospitals and diagnostic centre. The political class never pretends to remind us that they cannot risk their lives treating ordinary headache in any of them. Hence, health tourism is the order of the day. Regrettably, while we have progressed in negativities, we have utterly retrogressed in the positives.”

Dr. (Mrs)  Victoria Faleke, of the Department of European Languages, Federal University BirninKebbi, Kebbi State, is of the opinion that MKO Abiola would have been the best option for Nigeria given his background.

According to her, “he would have set the pace for other presidents after him to follow. Back in the day, rulers were after protecting their reputation and their name rather than amassing wealth as we have today.  Most of the problems MKO intended to solve are still very much around and they appear recalcitrant due to corruption that has been prevalent in this generation.

“Democracy is not genuinely practised in this country. The way leaders are being elected in Nigeria, we can say they elected themselves through bribery and falsifying election figures or bankrolling themselves into the political arena. Democratically elected presidents are supposed to be active, seen and heard in issues that border on security, education, health, and many others. But what we see today is the opposite. We have been hearing ‘the presidency says’ and you don’t even see the president addressing the nation, addressing things affecting the people he is governing. Look at what happened in Owo. Up till now, we have not seen the president coming to address or pay a courtesy visit to the affected state. So, we cannot say we have democracy in Nigeria. We are in a country where it is the bourgeoise that have a say. We cannot say we practise democracy. Look at our education, students have been at home for four months now.”

Adeola Oyebisi Egbedokun, ASUU chairman, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, in his view said it is interesting to note that governance in Nigeria has not given the people the government they deserve.

“Yes, MKO Abiola made promises and during his campaigns; he assured Nigerians that the country would be a better place. Unfortunately, he could not ‘fulfil’ his promises. I hope he were here today, we would have had a story to tell. What story in specific terms I cannot say. However, it is interesting to note that governance in Nigeria has not taken us to the Promised Land. Governments come, make promises but would perform below expectations and make all sectors to continue to suffer. Rather than for government to focus extensively on better governance, they are about struggling for power.

“Citizens of Nigeria have a responsibility which is to vote for the right people to govern us. Persons who are accountable; men and women who have plans and purposes to fulfil and not characters who would recount their activities of 20 years ago. Not persons who only remember they can solve Nigeria’s problem during party primaries,” he stated.

Healthcare Consultant, Olugbenga John-Morgan, is also of the opinion that democracy in Nigeria has not yielded the expected dividend if the campaign promises of 29 years ago are still issues being raise in today’s political campaign.

According to him, “The truth is that we’ve been so corrupted that we now celebrate mediocre people as super-achievers. Nigerians need to spend a month in the United Kingdom, the United States, or Ghana to grasp how deeply they are immersed in mental poverty. Nothing saddens me more than how the bar has been so lowered to the point that we now applaud little achievements. We honour criminals who should be serving time in prison.”

Renowned Ifa priest, Chief YemiElebuibon, in his own comments said leadership problem has brought Nigeria down on her knees, adding that military rule which could have achieved much with dispatch and without bias, later became selfish, adding that: “We are regressing in our democracy. We should not be the cause of our problems. The wealth of the nation ought to be equally distributed; one tribe should not punish the other. So, if we look at it critically, it is not balanced.”

HOPE forgotten for Nigeria?

Chief Elebuibon is of the opinion that the country could only make progress with honest leaders, noting however, that everyone has a role to play.

“The only way we can make progress is to have an honest person, who is not selfish. It is not just about the leaders. Sometimes, the leader will be a good person, but the people working with him/her will be delaying the progress and causing setbacks. Civil servants, the leaders and even the masses, all have roles to play.

“Sometimes, though, the decadence comes from the top. For example, if I am the head of an establishment with a lot of subordinates,if I am not corrupt, my subordinates should not be. But if I am corrupt, my subordinates will also be corrupt without fear of being caught by me. But if my subordinates are scared that their boss must not find out, and the cases of corruption that the boss eventually finds out will be severely and adequately punished, it would serve as a deterrent for others.

“Actions of the people who have been caught are being condoned. None of them has been punished or sentenced to prison for their crime. Whenever cases like that are reported and broadcast by the media, that will be the last we would hear of them. This is not democracy. We must be transparent in all our dealings. There should be no secret. Nobody should be above the law,” Chief Elebuibon stated.

In his own opinion, Nrialike believes that sincerity and patriotism point the way forward, including an electoral system that is not biased and would be able to discharge its duties without malpractice.

He said “We must be sincere and patriotic. That is the only way out.  But the beneficiaries of this skewed system cannot allow democracy to take root and thrive. We must have in our electoral system, electronic transmission of election results. Card readers must be put in place. Although an attempt was made to introduce electronic voting and transmission of election results in the Electoral Act, that gigantic leap has been watered down with the proviso that allowed for the use of manual voter registration in case of network failure. That is a leeway for the commission of electoral malpractice. Any area that wants to rig will place reliance on the fact that there is no network in order to cause electoral havoc.

“So for us to get it right, it must be seen that the power to choose our elective political officers is our thumb. It is not enough to tell us to get our PVC; the PVC must be made to count. The politicians must be made to understand that they are accountable and responsible to us, not to any godfather. And that can only happen if we have a good electoral law. The recently amended electoral act needs further fine-tuning to eliminate electoral malpractice to the barest minimum. It must be complete implementation of electronic voting, with no provision.”

Dr. (Mrs) Faleke believes that the best way to go is for the country to revisit its constitution, which she said “seems to be favouring some parts of the country over the other.”

Continuing, she said: “Let the three arms of government function independently as provided for by the constitution. Money politics should be jettisoned as these paves the way for incompetent people to grab power. We should imbibe the spirit of patriotism; every Nigerian should be a lover of Nigeria. Nigeria is blessed with both human and natural resources that is why in every nation you go to, the giants are Nigerians.”

From all indications, since HOPE 93 dream was aborted, Nigeria has continued to search for redemption, drifting from hopefulness to hopelessness. Twenty-nine years on, it is still not certained when MKO Abiola’s dream of a new Nigeria will become a reality or when Hope will be restored.