JUNE 12, 1993 evokes imagery of Nigeria’s barbed romance with democracy. Thus by acknowledging the date as the country’s epiphany in governance and nationalism, President Muhammadu Buhari dared to duel with discord and altered history. “In the view of Nigerians, as shared by this administration, June 12, 1993 was far more symbolic of democracy in the Nigerian context than May 29 or even October 1,” he said, thus declaring the date as Nigeria’s new Democracy Day. If politics is sculpturesque, Buhari’s latest move is inventive and intensely glyptic, that is, engraved in daring. It could be explained as his incised edge, what political strategists and pundits identify as the futurist element in crunch politics.
The journey started on June 23, 1993, when General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, Nigeria’s former Military President, annulled what is widely adjudged the country’s freest and fairest election till date. Even though Abiola defeated Bashir Tofa of the National Republican Convention (NRC), the election was annulled by Babangida, leading to political upheaval.
The crisis ended with the late Sani Abacha unseating the Ernest Shonekan- Interim National Government(ING), a contraption put together by IBB when he was forced to ‘step aside’, and seizing control of government later in the year. One year later, Abiola declared himself the legitimate president of Nigeria, in Epetedo area of Lagos soon after he returned from a trip to win the support of the international community for his mandate.
He was subsequently accused of treason and arrested on Abacha’s order. Abiola was detained for four years, largely in solitary confinement with a Bible, Qur’an, and guards as companions. During that time, Pope John Paul II, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and human rights activists from all over the world, lobbied the Nigerian government for his release. The sole condition attached to his freedom, however, was that he renounced his mandate. Abiola refused to budge even though the military government offered to compensate him and refund his election expenses. Eventually, he died in suspicious circumstances, shortly after Abacha’s death, on the day that he was due to be released, July 7, 1998. The circumstances of his death remain shrouded in mystery.
It is at the backdrop of these realities that Buhari apologised to Abiola’s family and announced that Nigeria’s Democracy Day will, henceforth, hold on June 12 of every year, instead of May 29, the previous date. Buhari also honoured Abiola, the winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election, with the highest national honour, the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR), stressing that he reached the decisions after due consultations. Babagana Kingibe, Abiola’s running mate, and the late human rights activist, Gani Fawehinmi, were also honoured with the second highest national hon our, the Grand Commander of the Niger (GCON). The investiture took place last Tuesday, June 12. “June 12, 1993” ,according to Buhari, “was the day when Nigerians in millions expressed their democratic will in what was undisputedly the freest, fairest and most peaceful elections since our independence.”
Buhari certainly understands that a people unprepared to face their history cannot progressively forge a future, hence his masterstroke, apologising to the Abiola family, and conferring on the deceased and associates, the country’s highest national honours. While opposition figures condemn his action as a desperate measure geared to heighten his chances at securing a second term in office, at next year’s presidential election, the President’s decision elicits profound praises and celebrations across the country’s social and political circuits. “June 12, 1993 was the day Nigerians chose the path to national unity, rather than ethnic eyes.We redefined Nigeria through the ballot box,” said Kingibe, describing Abiola as the messiah Nigerians never had. Although Kola, Abiola’s son, received the posthumous award on behalf of the family, he yielded the acceptance speech to his sister, Hafsat Abiola-Costello.
The latter eulogised President Buhari as the least expected person to honour her father. She accepted the honour on behalf of the family, saying it was worth it, especially for a family which gave a lot. Her mother, Kudirat, was killed in 1996 in a suspected assassination, while struggling to reclaim Abiola’s mandate in the 1993 election. Late Fawehinmi’s wife, Ganiyat, who accepted the posthumous award for her husband, expressed her gratitude to President Buhari. “So I just thank God that I am alive to witness today, and I know that my husband will turn in the grave for this June 12 that is being actualised because he really fought and died for it,” she said.
Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, also commended Buhari, stressing: “Most of what I wanted to say has actually been yanked off my throat by one singular gesture – the presidential apology. But the apology has been most touching. On behalf of the Nigerian people, I accept (the apology) and I am sure that most Nigerians will agree with me.” Frank Kokori, a foremost labour leader, who also campaigned for the actualisation of June 12, said Buhari was the least person expected to honour Abiola’s memory, saying it was a confirmation that the president “has a great soul.”
There is no gainsaying that Buhari’s predecessors failed to be visionary; Olusegun Obasanjo supposedly ignored political activists’ request that he declared June 12 as Democracy Day; Goodluck Jonathan recanted his bid to immortalise Abiola by renaming University of Lagos (UNILAG) as Moshood Abiola University (MAULAG), in controversial circumstances. The political class consequently maintained stony silence, and June 12 faded in an atmosphere sculpted in spite and dappled in disdain. Buhari’s act resurrects its essence; it resonates as a steely autograph on a populist model. The brilliant sheen of his mold makes one’s eyes glide in wonderment and atrophied hearts skip in gratitude across democratic and civil rights circuits.
