By Martin's Chinonso Nwede
12th June 1993, is a remarkable day in the political historic background of Nigeria. It was a day that Nigerians voted across party lines. Presidential elections were held in Nigeria on 12 June 1993, the first since the 1983 military coup ended the country's Second Republic. The elections were the outcome of a transitional process to civilian rule spearheaded by the military ruler, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB). The unofficial result of the election – though not declared by the National Electoral Commission (NEC) headed by Prof Humphrey Nwosu indicated a victory for Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), who defeated Bashir Tofa of the National Republican Convention (NRC). The winner of the election was thus never declared as the elections were annulled by IBB, citing electoral irregularities.
The annulment led to protests and political unrest, including the resignation of IBB and a weak interim civilian government, and culminated in the continuation of military rule in the country with Sani Abacha ascending to power as the military head of state via a bloodless coup later in the year.
M. K. O. Abiola and his running mate, Amb Baba Gana Kingibe who were Muslims flagged the ticket of SDP, while Basir Tofa was the Presidential candidate of NRC. Abiola was presumably the winner of the election having scored greater votes across the states.
The votes gotten are beneath:
Popular votes of SDP: 8,341,309.
Percentage: 58.36%
Votes of NRC: 5,952,087
Percentage: 41.64
Why IBB allegedly annulled the election:
Former Nigeria military head of state Ibrahim Babangida said he annulled the June 12, 1993, presidential election to prevent a coup in the country.
The June 12 1993 election is widely regarded as Nigeria’s fairest election with Moshood Kashimawo Olalekan (MKO) Abiola in the lead to become president before it was annulled by Babangida. This particular development generated controversy in Nigeria and outside.
Decades after the election, Babangida, in an interview on Arise TV said that some top officials in the military would have staged a violent coup if he did not annul the election.
“If it materialised, there would’ve been a coup d’état which could have been violent. That’s all I can confirm,” Babangida said.
“It didn’t happen thanks to the engineering and the ‘Maradonic’ way we handled you guys in the society with a tinge of disdain. But that could’ve given room for more instability in the country.”
The annulled presidential election had two Muslim candidates – Bashir Tofa (National Republican Convention) from the North and Mr Abiola (of the Social Democratic Party) from the South.
The election adjudged to be the freest and fairest in the history of the country was later annulled by Babangida to the chagrin of all.
Following this, a national protest followed the annulment and forced Babangida to step aside and handed power over to Ernest Shonekan on August 27, 1993, as the head of an Interim National Government.
Weeks after, late military dictator General Sani Abacha stagged a coup that usurped the interim government to return Nigeria to military rule.
The Nigerian government in 2018 announced that June 12 would be celebrated in the country as Democracy Day – a national holiday. The day was hitherto marked on May 29.
Abiola, the presumed winner of the June 12 election, and his running mate were conferred with Nigeria’s highest and second-highest honours – Grand Commander of the Federal Republic, GCFR, and Grand Commander of the Niger, GCON, respectively by President Buhari in 2018.
“June 12th, 1993 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,” President Muhammadu Buhari said in a statement on June 6, 2018.
“The fact that the outcome of that election was not upheld by the then military Government does not distract from the democratic credentials of that process.
“Accordingly, after due consultations, the Federal government has decided that henceforth, June 12th will be celebrated as Democracy Day."
What's democracy day all about?
Democracy Day is June 12, a national public holiday in Nigeria. Until June 6, 2018, it was held annually on May 29. Democracy Day marks the day the military handed over power to an elected civilian government in 1999, marking the beginning of the longest continuous civilian rule since Nigeria's independence from colonial rule in 1960. It is a tradition that has been held annually, beginning in the year 2000. June 12 was formerly known as Abiola Day celebrated in Lagos, Nigeria and some southwestern states of Nigeria.
Nigeria's Democracy Day is a public holiday to commemorate the restoration of democracy in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. May 29 was initially the official democracy day in Nigeria, marking when the newly elected Olusegun Obasanjo took office as the President of Nigeria in 1999, ending multiple decades of military rule that began in 1966 and had been interrupted only by a brief period of democracy from 1979 to 1983.
On June 6, 2018, eight days after May 29, 2018, had been celebrated as Democracy Day, the President Buhari-led Federal Government of Nigeria declared June 12 to be the new Democracy Day. Buhari gave his inaugural address for his second term on June 12, 2019. These were done to commemorate the democratic election of MKO Abiola on June 12, 1993, in what has been adjudged to be Nigeria's freest and fairest elections. It was, however, wrongly cancelled by the Ibrahim Babangida Junta. MKO Abiola was later detained after he rightfully declared himself the president. Chief MKO Abiola died mysteriously after drinking tea during the negotiation of his release. He started coughing in the presence of Kofi Annan and later died in the hospital as alleged. MKO promised the restoration of good governance in Nigeria.
Abiola arrested.
In 1994 Moshood Abiola, M.K.O. declared himself the lawful president of Nigeria in the Epetedo area of Lagos island, an area mainly populated by (Yoruba) Lagos Indigenes. He had recently returned from a trip to win the support of the international community for his mandate. After declaring himself president he was declared wanted and was accused of treason and arrested on the orders of military President General Sani Abacha, who sent 200 police vehicles to bring him into custody. M.K.O. Abiola has been referred to as Nigeria's greatest statesman.[44] His second wife Alhaja Kudirat Abiola was assassinated in Lagos in 1996 after declaring public support for her husband.
Moshood Abiola was detained for four years, largely in solitary confinement with a Bible, Qur'an, and fourteen 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.[45] The sole condition attached to the release of Chief Abiola was that he renounced his mandate, something that he refused to do, although the military government offered to compensate him and refund his extensive election expenses. For this reason, Chief Abiola became extremely troubled when Kofi Annan and Emeka Anyaoku reported to the world that he had agreed to renounce his mandate after they met with him to tell him that the world would not recognise a five-year-old election.
Death.
Moshood Abiola died unexpectedly, shortly after the death of General Abacha, on the day that he was due to be released.[48] While meeting a group of American diplomats including Thomas Pickering and Susan Rice at a government guesthouse in Abuja, Abiola fell ill and died. Rice had served tea to Abiola shortly before his collapse and later wrote of an enduring belief in Nigeria that she had poisoned Abiola.
Independent autopsy carried out and witnessed by physicians and pathologists from the Nigerian government, Nigerian Medical Association, Canada, the UK and the US found substantial evidence of longstanding heart disease. General Abacha's Chief Security Officer, al-Mustapha has alleged that Moshood Abiola was beaten to death and although Al-Mustapha claims to have video and audiotapes showing how Abiola was beaten to death, he has yet to come forward with the release of such tapes or how it was procured in the first place. Regardless of the exact circumstances of his death, it is clear that Chief Abiola received insufficient medical attention for his existing health conditions. Hence, whatever claims Al-Mustapha must have made to direct blame to other quarters other than himself and his late boss (General Sani Abacha) might be irrelevant or at best point back to them as the murderers of MKO.
