June 12: Hope long deferred

Twenty four years ago, the nation went to the polls to elect a president under the Option A4 electoral system. They did, but the election was annulled by the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd). In the aftermath of that annulment, the nation got thrown into political turmoil whose effects still dominate the polity even now. Associate Editor, TAIWO ADISA, examines the issues that keep the election alive many years after.

The Epetedo (Lagos) Declaration made by Chief MKO Abiola on June 11, 1994, a year after the June 12 1993 presidential election was not only historic. It gave verve to the struggle to revalidate that election, which was annulled by military Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida. Earlier, it had been hailed as the freest, fairest and the most peaceful election of that magnitude ever conducted in Nigeria, but the military, after some manuevouring, announced it was cancelling the results based on what it called some anomalies.

The nation was incensed as activists who hitherto largely stood aside during the unwinding transition programme joined the fray, alleging injustice. Chief Abiola became the most sought after Nigerian as the class of opposition to the military rose day by day. Eventually, General Babangida left the scene by stepping aside in August 1993, handing over to an Interim National Government(ING) headed by Chief Ernest Shonekan. The ING in turn got displaced by the General Sani Abacha-led palace coup.

Following his takeover in November 1993, Abacha posed as if he was set to negotiate transfer of power with Abiola, but it turned out that he was only buying time to secure legitimacy. When it became obvious to Abiola and the teeming supporters across the land that the military was not ready to cede power to him or revisit the annulled election, the push became rife that he should claim the mandate freely given by Nigerians. Emerging from an underground hideout, the late business mogul threw his hat to the ring on June 11, 1994, when he announced himself the president of Nigeria.

MKO said in the historic speech that changed the course of the struggle for June 12 and the Nigerian polity: “People of Nigeria, exactly one year ago, you turned out in your millions to vote for me, Chief M.K.O. Abiola, as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“But politicians in uniform, who call themselves soldiers but are more devious than any civilian would want to be, deprived you of your God-given right to be ruled by the president you had yourselves elected. These soldier-politicians introduced into our body polity, a concept hitherto unknown to our political lexicography, something strangely called the “annulment” of an election perceived by all to have been the fairest, cleanest and most peaceful ever held in our nation. Since that abominable act of naked political armed robbery occurred, I have been constantly urged by people of goodwill, both in Nigeria and abroad, to put the matter back into the people’s hands and get them to actualise the mandate they gave me at the polls. But mindful of the need to ensure that peace continues to reign in our fragile federation, I have so far tried to pursue sweet reason and negotiation.

“However, although this peaceful approach has exposed me to severe censure by some who have mistaken it for weakness on my part, those with whom I have sought to dialogue have remained like stones, neither stirred to show loyalty to the collective decision of the people of their own country, nor to observe Allah’s injunction that they should exhibit justice and fair-play in all their dealings with their fellowmen. Appeals to their honour as officers and gentlemen of the gallant Nigerian Armed Forces, have fallen on deaf ears. Instead, they have resorted to the tactics of divide and rule, bribery and political perfidy, misinformation and (vile) propaganda.”

He then made the all-important declaration: “Our patience has come to an end. As of now, from this moment, a new Government of National Unity is in power throughout the length and breadth of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, led by me, Bashorun M.K.O. Abiola, as President and Commander-in-Chief.

“The National Assembly is hereby reconvened. All dismissed governors are reinstated. The State Assemblies are reconstituted, as are all local government councils. I urge them to adopt a bi-partisan approach to all the issues that come before them. At the national level, a bi-partisan approach will be our guiding principle. I call upon the usurper, General Sani Abacha, to announce his resignation forthwith, together with the rest of his illegal ruling council. We are prepared to enter into negotiations with them to work out the mechanisms for a smooth transfer of power.”

The “usurper” (General Sani Abacha) as Abiola called him, did not take things lying low. The military regime rolled out the tanks to drive protesters off the streets of Lagos and many cities. The gun-wielding soldiers killed and maimed in their wake. They eventually picked up the self-declared President of Nigeria and incarcerated him. He never got released from that detention.

Though Abiola, like Abacha, his traducer, died in 1998, the story of the June 12 struggle has refused to die.  A number of issues that revolve around the historic election continue to make it a watershed in the annals of Nigerian history. First, Abiola’s wife, Kudirat, who took up the leadership of the protesting Nigerians after Abiola’s arrest was gunned down by those believed to be agents of the military on June 4, 1996. It was a brutal murder that pricked the minds of many and further fouled the polity.  Already, ethnic meanings have been read to the annulment of June 12, with many protesters from the South West insisting that Northern elements in the military orchestrated the annulment to prevent power from shifting to the South. The killing of Kudirat gave the Abacha regime a bloodied nose locally and on the international scene. Coupled with the killing of activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, sanctions rained on the country. Western powers would have nothing to do with the government in Abuja, while they gave open support to activist groups including the Radio Kudirat and the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), which had local and international wings.

With the persistence of NADECO, the booming voices from Radio Kudirat, which was broadcasting subterraneously and the relentless protests from students and activists, the Abacha regime got soaked in. Nigeria became a pariah state and the Head of State could hardly step out of Aso Rock Villa. At a stage, there were fears some groups would launch armed struggle.

The death of Abacha on June 8, 1993 and Abiola a month later changed the “On June 12 we stand” campaign slogan as some protesters modified their statements afterwards. Some asked for official declaration of the result of that election and a posthumous affirmation of Abiola as President, others simply called the election a watershed in Nigerian history.

Notwithstanding Abiola’s departure from the face of earth and the decision of his running mate, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe to abandon the mandate for a post in the Abacha regime, the June 12 campaign has never really been dwarfed. As a credit to the departed souls in the wake of June 12 struggle and to answer some inherent ethnic concerns in the annulment, the position of President was zoned to the South West during the election of 1999. And at the restart of democratic governance in that year, a debate ensued as to whether June 12 or May 29 should be declared Democracy Day.   While governments of the six South West states declared holidays to mark June 12, the Federal Government retained May 29.

Will the June 12 anniversary ever fizzle out? That is a question whose answer lies in the belly of time and political realities of the nation. Has the political actors addressed the issues raised by June 12? The answer cannot be in the affirmative yet. Has the nation addressed the issue of overbearing North lording over the rest of the country? Has the nation addressed issues of federalism and restructuring? Has the nation adopted a deliberate policy to implement Section 14 of the 1999 Constitution to enthrone equity and fairness in the sharing of national opportunities?  When will national institutions including its defence apparatus work for its corporate existence without a leaning or disposition towards ethnic or regional sentiments?  When will religious tension take the back seat in the country?

The renewed calls for self-determination by the various regions of the country most recently keep interrogating the validity or otherwise of the present democratic era since 1999. From many platforms for agitations in the South South to the secessionist calls from the South East and the Igbo quit notice instituted by certain groups in the North, much is left to be desired in the fragile unity that is today witnessed in the country. All these and many more signpost the significance of June 12 in the nation’s history.

The voters of June 12, ignored the Muslim-Muslim configuration of the Abiola/Kingibe ticket. They saw a true Nigerian in the MKO Abiola, whose reputation as a philanthropist preceded his entry into partisan politics. They believed that his disposition would have ended ethnic suspicion and tension in the polity and allow the nation achieve its development potentials.

Those were some of the issues the annulled June 12 election potentially sought to resolve. And that is why many will always look back at that day with nostalgia.