June 12: 21 years after

June 12, 2014 by Tsoule Editorial Board

Chief Moshood Abiola

MANY days pass unnoticed in the annals of our country, but not June 12. It has been canonised, and fittingly so, as a defining moment in Nigeria’s history. A presidential election held on June 12, 1993 and won by the business mogul, Moshood Abiola, was unaccountably annulled by the military dictator, Ibrahim Babangida. Abiola, who was incarcerated by the Sani Abacha regime for demanding the restoration of his electoral mandate, died in mysterious circumstances in 1998.

The annulled presidential poll was remarkable, not just for its fairness, but for breaking barriers to national unity, especially our fault lines of religion and ethnicity. Abiola, the flag bearer of the Social Democratic Party, was a Muslim and he chose a fellow Muslim, Babagana Kingibe, as his running mate. This Muslim-Muslim ticket defeated a Muslim-Christian ticket of Bashir Tofa and Sylvester Ugoh of the National Republican Convention.

It is strange that 21 years after the June 12 debacle, the country has not shown any interest in unravelling its mysteries or resolutely demanding that those involved in the annulment be made to account for their misdeed. That ill-fated democratic crusade cost Nigeria over N40 billion then. Again, how Abiola died a few days after his tormentor – Abacha – had passed on, remains a jigsaw. These are dark spots that still blight our democracy.

Since 1993, the country has been tottering. Four general elections in 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011, conducted by different administrations, yielded results that were parodies of the June 12 poll; even international observers said so. In fact, the polls brought to the fore, those centrifugal tendencies that have abbreviated the country’s march to nationhood. Ballot-box snatching, killing, rigging, post-election violence and petitions at election tribunals, which sometimes lasted for three years after polling, are still very much in evidence.

The most galling of them all was the 2007 elections, which the foreign observers described as the worst they had ever witnessed globally. The ballot papers for the presidential ballot were not recognised by the Electoral Act. Olusegun Obasanjo, whose administration conducted the elections, had earlier regarded it as a “do-or-die” affair.

Though the Supreme Court gave its imprimatur to the election, yet, it was Justice George Oguntade’s minority ruling, supported by the current Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mariam Aloma-Mukhtar, that resonated. Oguntade ruled, “A ballot paper not in conformity with section 45 (2) is prima facie act of non-compliance. It is, therefore, an invalid ballot paper. Since it is the same invalid ballot paper that converts later in the process of an election into a vote, the resulting vote must also become an invalid vote.”

As 2015 draws nearer, political zones in states are at daggers drawn over which area should produce the governor, while the embers of religion are being fanned. Competence and party primaries, two critical yardsticks used to arrive at such a decision in a democracy, have become secondary. While our presidential elections are always mired in irregularities, so are governorship polls.

Unfortunately, the build-up to next year’s general election does not raise much hope. We have had staggered governorship elections in Edo, Ondo and Anambra states, which ought to have served as a dress-rehearsal for 2015, but the Independent National Electoral Commission, chaired by Attahiru Jega, never charted a new course. Electoral materials did not arrive at polling stations on time; just as some of the electoral body’s officials willingly compromised the electoral process. The June 21 governorship election in Ekiti State provides yet another opportunity for the umpire to sing a redemption song.

As we reflect on the June 12 election, its enduring lessons must not be lost on those who still dream of a better Nigeria. The fissures in the polity or those parochial propensities that the election dealt a mortal blow are stronger today, threatening to tear the country to shreds. That we are not making progress is seen in the fact that the outcome of elections are no longer considered sacrosanct, while service to the people has ceased to be the impulse for an elective office. As a result, it is desperation all the way. By continuing to countermand these democratic virtues, the wrong message is being etched in the minds of the youth. This fouled political environment is foreboding.

Therefore, a new beginning for Nigeria has become crucial. Every electoral offence in all progressive-minded societies is treated as a crime. In the 2011 elections, for instance, 870,000 eligible voters were involved in multiple registration, according to INEC. But the commission could only charge 200 to court, citing a slew of hindrances for failing to do the needful.

INEC’s reversal of this trend is a fresh foundation the country needs to rebuild its mangled democracy. Such renaissance will not only serve us well, but will be a glowing memorial to Abiola, whom Obasanjo recently acknowledged “…sacrificed everything for the development of this country.”

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