By Augustine Eigbe, Ph.D
June 12, 1993, remains a defining moment in the annals of Nigeria’s political history.
The annulment of what is widely regarded as the freest and fairest election in the country’s history won by Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola (M.K.O Abiola) GCFR, marked both the apogee of democratic aspirations and the abyss of military dictatorship in Nigeria.
Decades after the return to civilian rule in 1999, the official observance of June 12 as Nigeria’s Democracy Day by Ex-President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in 2018 was seemingly an act of historical redress.
Nevertheless, this symbolic gesture stands in sharp contradistinction to the systemic deterioration of democratic values characterising the country’s modern-day governance paradigm.
It is imperative to interrogate the disjunction between June 12’s foundational ideals of democratic integrity and today’s elite-dominated elections since 1999.
The June 12 election was remarkable not only for its unprecedented fairness but also for its cross-ethnic mandate, as Abiola secured broad-based support across Nigeria’s contentious ethnic and religious divides.
The annulment of the 1993 election by General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida’s (IBB) regime epitomised the junta’s disdain for democracy, sparking protests that culminated in the 1999 transition to civilian rule under General Abdulsalam Abubakar.
However, the transition to democracy, rather than fulfilling the emancipatory, inclusive, and participatory promises of June 12, created a civilian oligarchy that replicated the exclusionary tendencies of its military predecessors.
The official recognition of June 12 as Democracy Day was an overdue acknowledgement of its historical significance, yet it functions more as a political theatre than substantive restitution.
The same Buhari administration that conferred this honour presided over some of the most controversial elections, tainted by technical glitches, voter suppression, manipulation, militarisation of the electoral process, and judicial meddling.
This irony exposes a broader trend of the co-optation of democratic symbols by a political class that remains radically disconnected from the egalitarian ethos of the June 12 struggle.
Moreover, while June 12 Democracy Day is rhetorically invoked as a symbol of national unity, the nation’s contemporary politics remains embedded in identity politics, deeply polarised along ethnic and religious lines.
The weakening of institutions and the shrinking of civic space exemplified by the misapplication of the Cybercrime Act to suppress freedom of expression and target citizens criticising the excesses of the government further spotlights the gap between the democratic ideals enshrined in the June 12 struggle and the clientelist, neo-patrimonial system that defines today’s governance in the country.
For June 12 to transcend mere symbolism,the political elites must move beyond ceremonial gestures and fix the structural deficits that compromise democratic progress.
The reconciliation of Nigeria’s political development with the aspirations of the June 12 struggle requires the institutionalisation of transparency, accountability, citizen-centered governance, electoral restructuring, an independent judiciary, and strict adherence to the rule of law.
Otherwise, the annual rituals of Democracy Day commemoration will remain an empty spectacle, a disquieting reflection of the unresolved contradictions between Nigeria’s democratic aspirations and its present-day political realities.
The sincere memorialisation of June 12 lies not in yearly rhetorical flourishes but in the unswerving commitment to the democratic principles for which Chief MKO Abiola and countless other pro-democracy figures sacrificed their lives and resources.
Until then, the discordance between Nigeria’s democratic pretensions and its dictatorial tendencies will persist as a sobering legacy of unfulfilled promises of June 12 democratic aspirations.
Historian and Development Communication Expert.