Democracy Day can only make sense if the nation learns and adapts its historical significance adequately, writes MONDAY PHILIPS EKPE
Ask Nigerians what they think about the current system of government that was warmly welcomed back on May 29, 1999. Those who witnessed it would most likely express their disillusionment. Those born within this Fourth Republic, especially the Gen Z, would either be lost for the right words or spew out some invectives and then return to their phones – social media – for succour. What else do they turn to, anyway? They live with the consequences of government’s underperformance daily and find it hard to imagine that the country wasn’t always this discomfiting and inhibiting. They practically know no other life.
But the real tragedy of our own variant of democracy is not just that its dividends have remained largely elusive, what one of its finest moments is begging to teach us has been ignored for too long. For the record, Nigeria had always marked May 29 as Democracy Day since 2000 before the government of President Muhammadu Buhari changed it to June 12 in honour of the presidential election of 1993 believed to be the nation’s freest and fairest which was won by Chief Moshood Abiola but was annulled by the then Military President Ibrahim Babangida. In trying to right that wrong, Buhari officially declared Chief Abiola the winner, awarded him the highest national honour and effected the date change.
Many people saw those moves differently, however. To them, the former leader was only pandering to the sentiments and agitations of western Nigeria, Abiola’s home base, to secure crucial votes in his 2019 re-election bid. Anyway, scheming and politics are regular bed-mates. But as I’ve argued elsewhere, the justifications for shifting democracy’s commemoration date from the anniversary of the last exit of soldiers from political power under such a partisan atmosphere may later wear off and give way to resentment, if not widespread noncompliance. Here’s why. As momentous as June 12 is, it hasn’t been properly established as a true national monument, a moment in which the fault lines that are still trying to crush the Nigerian spirit melted in the face of the country’s unanimous and overriding hunger for a return to civil rule.
Another catalyst for the decisive, popular resolve demonstrated 33 years ago was the very personality of Abiola. There was something about his mass appeal which swept across Nigeria like frankincense. Here was a billionaire, easily among Nigeria’s richest and one of its most colourful, who refused to lose touch with the downtrodden. I still wonder whenever I pass through Toyin Street in Ikeja, Lagos what made the place suitable for his residence when he could comfortably acquire luxuriant, palatial homes in Ikoyi, Victoria Island and elsewhere. His campaign tagged “Hope 93” was simply magical. Both rich and poor queued up from Lagos to Sokoto, Maiduguri to Calabar, to press their thumbs into the Social Democratic Party (SDP) spaces on the ballot papers. No Moslem-Moslem ticket dichotomy. No my-turn, your-turn syndrome.
There’s a whole lot to unpack about June 12, if not for the sake of the old who may have taken an eternal stand, it could be for those who were then either unborn or mature enough to digest that historic period. Political historians should be interested in how a true national mandate quickly became minimised to a regional one. What made Abiola succeed where Chief Obafemi Awolowo, arguably the west’s most revered leader, failed. How such an ambitious, monumental, albeit aborted, occasion was reduced to an “injustice” done to a section of the federation. Sadly, that sentiment seems to have attached itself permanently to this somewhat sacred date. The nation appears to have squandered a chance to forge genuine nationhood based on the positives of that election. Something could unravel down the line that might challenge the suitability or credibility of the official date to celebrate our democracy.
A little here and a little there, the quest for rotational presidency began during the legendary democratic struggle of the 1990s like Siamese twins. The immediate beneficiary of that circumstantial blackmail, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), made a kill of the sentiment and rode on it to power; an attitude that has now degenerated to entitlement, otherwise called “emilokan” or “awalokan”. Never mind that rotation hasn’t yet found its way into the constitution. It’s already etched on the psyche of many Nigerians. If only that would lead us to a desirable destination. No one is sure that it will. What is certain is that, in a metaphysical sense, Nigerians are still in search of an Abiola figure, someone truly loved by majority of the people for his humanity, vision and drive. A nationalist devoid of known myopic inclinations and practices.
Fast forward to the present. Three decades are long enough to move any individual, institution or country either upwards or downwards in any index of development. The fear, uncertainties and authoritarianism experienced during military incursions into government left Nigerians with no viable options than go for democracy. They had gone through colonial rule. Endured the foibles and excesses of the First Republic politicians which ultimately resulted in the coup of 1966. Watched the shortcomings of the administration of Alhaji Shehu Shagari that served as the pretext for the comeback of the khaki boys. Were almost overcome by the recklessness and dictatorship of jackboot leaderships from December 1983 to 1999. General Abdulsalam Abubakar’s hand-over to President Olusegun Obasanjo on May 29, 1999 couldn’t have come at a better time. A huge relief that has been going southwards, unfortunately.
One doesn’t need to be a sceptic or pessimist to wonder whether what obtains now is worth celebrating. But then, the very concept of perfection is otherworldly. Meaning, the way forward will always be fraught with challenges. Luckily, our past wasn’t always despicable. So, to make progress, learn from June 12 we must. Nigerians are capable of setting their differences aside and speaking with one voice. The present election umpire can exhibit probity. Public perception is indispensable here. The political class can display maturity in this game against all odds. Alhaji Bashir Tofa, Abiola’s opponent who accepted the result without drama and one of the most unappreciated leading lights of that era, deserves to be emulated by the opposition.
Away from grandstanding and belabouring his role in the restoration of our democracy, President Bola Tinubu should lead the way in ensuring that Abiola and indeed the rest slain heroes did not pay the ultimate price in vain.
Dr Ekpe is a member of THISDAY Editorial Board
X: @monday_ekpe2
