Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Friday, June 17, 2011

A unifying holiday

There's a call in Nigeria to declare June 12 Democracy Day. It marks the day in 1993 when military rulers annulled the election of Mashood Abiola as president. It's a proposal by Yoruba leaders, in part to honor a Yoruba hero, but it's also a proposal for a unifying national holiday. Nigeria could use more of those.

Fashola, Adebanjo, Sagay, Balarabe Musa, Others Remember June 12

On June 12 1993, millions of Nigerians voted in the election adjudged to be the best ever conducted in the history of Nigeria.

It was possible for the people to vote right because the elections were properly planned and well conducted. There were pre-election debates and it was easy to know who was intelligent and who was really dull.

The people voted and the results were rolling in more to the favour of MKO Abiola. When it became evident that Abiola would win, Bashir Tofa (the opponent) was said to have sent him congratulatory messages.

That was the spirit and mood until Nigerians received the announcement that cancelled or annulled the election …

[R]enown [sic] constitutional lawyer, Prof. Itse Sagay, has urged the Federal Government to declare June 12 of every year a national holiday

In a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Sagay described June 12 as a "watershed" in the political history of Nigeria.

The widely acclaimed election of late Chief Moshood Abiola was annulled by the military government on June 12, 1993.

According to him, honouring past heroes such as Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe and Moshood Abiola with national holidays is a befitting way of acknowledging their contributions to the nation.

He said that the decision of some states of the federation to declare June 12 as "Democracy Day" was indicative of the autonomy of states in a true federalism…