June 12 holds profound significance in Nigeria's history, symbolizing a crucial milestone in the nation's democratic evolution. It is a day that serves as a poignant reminder of the arduous struggle by Nigerians to achieve civil rule and freedom from the shackles of oppressive and repressive governance.
On that fateful day, Nigeria held a presidential election widely regarded as one of the freest and fairest in its history. However, the momentum was abruptly halted when the then Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida, annulled the results, citing dubious and flimsy reasons.
The annulment of the election plunged Nigeria into a state of calamity, triggering a wave of protests, demonstrations, and civil unrest. Hundreds of Nigerians lost their lives in the mayhem, and media houses were forceful shutdown, stifling free speech and press freedom. The acclaimed winner of the poll, Chief M.K.O Abiola, a prominent business mogul, was arrested by the Babangida junta, kept in detention until he eventually died in 1998.
Since then, and with the return of civil rule in 1999, there has been a clamour for June 12 to be recognised as "Democracy Day."" Successive administrations ignored this agitation for whatever reason until in June 2018 when former President Muhammadu Buhari changed the nation’s Democracy Day from May 29 to June 12.
In doing so, Buhari said the decision was not all about the sacrifices of those who fought to enthrone democracy alone but to demonstrate his regime’s commitment to satisfy the aspirations of Nigerians and creating an environment for democracy to thrive and be an accepted way of life.
Despite fulfilling the agitation of many pro-democracy advocates, the decision to name June 12 as the new date to mark democracy day was seen as political and a subterfuge. To them, it was a clever way to woo Nigerians, especially people of the South-West, to re-elect him for a second term despite his abysmal performance.
But 32 years after and with 26 years of unbroken democratic rule, Nigeria still struggles with conducting an acceptable general election devoid of rigging, violence, manipulation, and other issues that gravely undermine democracy. We still grapple with ethnic and religious sentiments in defining our electoral system just as we still contend with the criminal conspiracy of security agencies and some members of the judiciary to give legitimacy to fraudulent elections.
The introduction of money politics, massive violence, boast of "go to court," and the absence of secured electoral fields has increased voters' apathy. In addition to these, the lack of political party ideology, internal democracy, and the imposition of unpopular candidates who emerge from invalid primaries has made things worse.
It was expected that with the introduction of technology like the BIVAS and IREV by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), elections would become more transparent and credible. Sadly, it hasn't. Some integrity challenged INEC personnel in connivance with their political patrons found a way to bypass the digital innovations to rig elections.
The last general election in 2023 was another sad indication that Nigeria is still far from getting it right with her elections. Despite the desire and determination of the people to choose their preferred candidates, they were confronted with setbacks of a dysfunction technical system and compromised process.
Two years after he was sworn in, most Nigerians had thought that being a product of the struggle for sustained democracy, President Bola Tinubu would be different. There were so many expectations that he would allow the tenets of democracy to flourish, more so, given the controversy that trailed his election. But that is not the case. He has rather supervised hostilities against the people. In some cases, he carried it out himself.
The imposition of a state of emergency in Rivers State on March 18, 2025, was one clear example. Tinubu, acting like a despot, suspended two key arms of government in the state under the pretence of a needed action to stem an imaginary lawlessness. He subjected a democratically elected governor to public ridicule, and even with public outrage, he didn't listen.
June 12 was a golden opportunity to upturn the misnomer and correct the mistake in Rivers. It was a special moment to show that he still has his democratic credentials, but he blew it away without any care. What else can explain presidential rascality?
Senator Henry Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa West) must be commended for standing up to the truth and not minding the dire political consequences. Dickson, in a press conference after Tinubu's June 12 joint address at the National Assembly, told the world that democracy was under threat in Nigeria. As eloquent and fearless as he is always, Dickson spoke truth to power.
The response by the Rivers caucus of the National Assembly was dead on arrival. Their outing was simply grandstanding. Their rebuttal was nothing short of disgraceful. It was very obvious that they were forced to do so against their will.
President Tinubu also failed to honour some of those who deserved the National Honours he dished out that day. A lot of Nigerians who took part in the various activities of June 12, with some of them paying with their lives, were left out.
The president has two years left of his tenure. He needs to be sincere in his pursuit for a Nigeria that can work for all Nigerians and not a few. The attempt by his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), to deliberately turn the country into a one party state is another scary voyage he must halt. He has a short time to make things work. Nigerians are watching!
