Between June 12 and March 28 – Tayo Ogunbiyi

In the history of every country, certain dates are considered as defining and epoch mak­ing. Such dates often have far reaching consequences on the socio-political landscape of every country. In the socio-political his­tory of Nigeria, June 12, 1993 and March 28, 2015 will for long re­main very crucial dates.

Except for some fundamental variations, the story of June 12, 1993 and March 28, 2015 is almost a similar tale. It is a story of the strong resolve of the Nigerian people to chart a new course for their beloved country. It is a story of the determination of the Nigerian people to redefine and reshape the nation’s political scenery. On both dates, Nigerians, usually dis­play profound apathy towards the elec­toral process, defied all odds by trooping out in their millions to elect a president of their choice.

There were reports of un­precedented popular participation in the electoral course on both periods. On the two occasions, Nigerians who are usually renowned for their impatience patiently surmounted all technical and natural hur­dles to participate at the polls. On March 28, for instance, despite reported cases of failure of the Independent National Election Commission’s, INEC, newly in­troduced card reader, in some locations across the country, Nigerians exercised unbelievable tolerance. In some instanc­es, it was reported that some spirited Ni­gerians put their generating sets, vehicles and other resources on the line in order to make the system work. It is equally instructive to stress that on both occasions, the Nigerian political scene was dominated by two big political parties.

In 1993, the defunct National Re­publican Convention, NRC and the So­cial Democratic Party, SDP were the two major political parties that participated in the ensuing political contest between Al­haji Bashir Tofa and late business mogul, Chief MKO Abiola. In same manner, on March 28, 2015, though about fourteen po­litical parties took part in the presidential election, the real contest was actually be­tween Dr. Goodluck Jonathan of the ruling People Democratic Party, PDP and Gener­al Muhammadu Buhari, rtd., of the opposi­tion All Progressive Party, APC. It should be placed on record that on these two occa­sions, with the two vibrant political parties, the political scene was quite exciting and lively. This has led to the clamouring, in some quarters, for the country to adopt the 1993 two parties’ option. The two presidential elections were equally supervised by two eminent Nige­rian scholars. Professor Humphrey Nwosu was the Chairman of the National Electoral Commission, NEC, the body that conduct­ed the June 12, 1993 presidential election.

Professor Attahiru Jega, the current chair­man of the Independent National Election Commission, was the electoral umpire during the Mach 28, 2015 presidential poll. To give the 2015 some academic coloura­tion, Jega deployed some professors into the electoral fray to act as State Collation Officers. To what extent these two eminent professors, Nwosu and Jega, succeeded in their respective assignments would con­tinue to be subject of intense discourse and debate among journalists, historians, po­litical scientists and other interested stake­holders. One other distinct feature of the two elections is that ethnic and tribal consider­ations were not too prevalent, as it used to be the case, in the voting pattern.

On June 12, 1993, the late Chief MKO Abiola of the defunct SDP had more votes in the north­ern part of the country than Alhaji Bashir Tofa, his northern challenger from the de­funct NRC. Similarly, during the March 28, 2015, presidential election, Dr. Good­luck Jonathan of the ruling PDP had more votes than General Muhammadu Buhari, rtd., his APC, challenger, in northern states such as Taraba, Plateau and Nasarawa while he equally posted relatively impressive per­formances in northern states such as Benue, Zamfara, Kaduna and Sokoto. This is a clear departure from the usual trend where elec­torates vote along chiefly ethnic and tribal lines. Though it should be stressed that Dr. Jonathan got the bulk of his votes from the Niger Delta zone, this is quite logical as it is only natural for his kinsmen to be at the forefront of his reelection bid.

However, in spite of the obvious fact that the June 12, 1993 and March 28, 2015, presidential elections in Nigeria share a lot in common, there are some fundamental differences between the two elections. The most obvious one, of course, is that one re­corded a stillbirth while the other had a live birth. Despite being adjudged the fairest and freest poll ever in the annals of the country’s political history, military authorities led by General Ibrahim Babangida, rtd, annulled the result of the June 12, 1993, election, thereby ensuring that the acclaimed winner, Chief MKO Abiola, was unable to claim his mandate. Indeed, the announcement of the results was suspended by the military au­thorities while Professor Nwosu, the lead­ers of the electoral body was whisked away from public circulation. The March 28, 2015, presidential poll was, however, different not only because a winner emerged and election conclusive but because, unlike Professor Nwosu who was more or less a villain of the June 12 election, Professor Jega, the INEC boss, came out of the whole processes a hero of sort.

One other remarkable dissimilarity of the two polls is the varied disposition of the political parties to religious sentiments and concerns. In 1993, the defunct SDP was bold and daring in its conviction that fielding a Muslim-Muslim ticket (Abiola and Kingibe) would not jeopardise its electoral success. The party went ahead with its conviction and recorded a resounding success at the polls. But for the annulment of the poll’s result, such audacity could have effective­ly checkmated religious contemplations in our political scene. Prior to the emergence of Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, as the Vice Presidential candidate (now Vice President elect) to the APC Presidential candidate (now President elect), General Buhari, speculation was rife that, like the defunct SDP, the APC was toiling with the idea of a Muslim-Muslim ticket.

However, that conjecture was later sacrifice on the altar of political expediency or, perhaps, on the stark reality of our peculiar socio-political state of affairs. What could have happened if the APC had displayed the same political effrontery, as the defunct SDP, by going ahead to field a Muslim- Muslim ticket remains a mere object of academic conjecture. One other major difference between the two polls is that while the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election threw the country into chaos, , the March 28, 2015 election surprisingly ended on a most un­dreamed of nonviolent note. One of the major highlights of March 28 poll is that, for the first time in the political history of the country, an incumbent President con­ceded defeat by congratulating his oppo­nent long before the final outcome of the poll was officially announced.

The March 28, 2015, presidential elec­tion has come and gone. Perhaps, the successful outcome of the election could help to unravel some of the mysteries as­sociated with the June 12, 1993 election. Could this be the right time to bring back to life the ghost of the June 12, 1993, elec­tion? What really happened on June 12? Why was the voice of the people silenced? Would March 28 lead us closer to the truth behind the story of June 12? Time will tell!