By Habib Aruna
“A republic, if you can keep it,”
The above were Benjamin Franklin famous and iconic words, which according to the Library of Congress, was in response to Elizabeth Willing Powel’s question about whether the new government about to be formed in the United States, was a republic or a monarchy.
This exchange occurred on September 17, 1787, after the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, when Mrs. Powel asked Franklin, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” he replied succinctly, “A republic, if you can keep it”. Franklin was recorded as the oldest delegate at the convention and his response was in consonance with the idea that the success of a republic or a democratic process depends on the active participation and vigilance of its citizens to maintain it. And with few weeks to go for the world notable and biggest democratic experiment, United States, to be 250 years old, it’s indeed, quite discernible that given the many challenges that the country has faced over more than two centuries and a half, “democracy is not a destination but a journey”
So, how has Nigeria fared since the current dispensation in 1999? A democratic process that is a product of the annulment of June 12 1993 presidential election, an election adjudged to be the most credible, transparent and free and fair one in the not so enviable Nigeria’s electoral process. An election and outcome that kept reminding us that we are yet to get it right and that the ballot box is yet to be sacrosanct.
Nevertheless, Nigerians will again come out today to celebrate the winner of the June 12 presidential election, Bashorun Moshood Abiola and to mark the symbolic day that has been rightly declared Democracy Day by the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
It was a day that Nigerians came out in their millions to vote for their preferred candidate; a day that religion, tribe and other primordial considerations took a back seat and voters were determined to get it right for once, even though the process that led to the election was stained with credibility crisis. The inclement weather in some parts of the country on that day did not prevent them from coming out to queue behind their preferred candidate.
This writer voted in Kano at that time and witnessed how enthusiastic voters in that ancient city were lining behind the picture of Abiola in conformity with Professor Humphery Nwosu’s Option A4. That was the scenario painted all over the country; of a people desirous of change and putting their destiny in the hands of who they believe is capable of taking them to the Promised Land. Their hope was however cut short few days later when the military junta, led by General Badamasi Babangida shockingly annulled the election, when it was clear that Abiola was coasting to victory.
For sure, the military regime did not envisage the amount of protests and demonstrations that came in the wake of the mindless and senseless annulment. Led by pro-democracy and human rights activists like the late Gani Fawehinmi, Wole Soyinka, Femi Falana, Olisa Agbakoba, Ayo Obe, Ayo Opadokun, Shehu Sanni, the late Beko Ransome-Kuti, amongst other notable figures, Nigerians expressed their anger and reservations against annulment and vowed to make sure that the winner, Abiola is declared the winner and sworn in as president.
The protests continued until Babangida stepped aside and General Sani Abacha, the goggled and brutal dictator, took over. He was so brutal that many activists were not spared from either being imprisoned or even outrightly killed. Kudirat, wife of the winner of the election was shot in Lagos and died a few hours after. Bagauda Khalto, a journalist was not spared by the military goons and many journalists, including activists were forced to go on exile to continue the struggle against military dictatorship. It was in the midst of this crisis and attempt by Abacha to drop his khaki uniform for babaringa that he dropped dead and the country was saved from the precipice.
The military then decided to save its face by coming up with a more credible transition programme. The Abdulsalami Abubakar regime that took over from Abacha knew that Nigerians and the world will not tolerate a longer and unwarranted stay in office by the military, so he and the Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC) quickly organized a transition that led the country back to civilian rule. Before then, Moshood Abiola, who had been incarcerated by Abacha had died in detention, putting the Abdulsalami in a fix. Indeed, the death and the attendant effects made Abiola more popular, made him a hero of democracy and created a climate of urgency on the need to ease tension in the polity by making sure that the next president comes from the South Western part of the country.
Perhaps, it was this rush to handover that led to the failure by the military to put in place viable and enduring institutions to guide the embryonic democratic rule. There was little or no pragmatic attempt to make sure that the constitution and other working principles were put in place to protect and promote democracy which Abiola and others paid the ultimate price for. And largely because of this, the politicians that took over from the military were not those who fought for democracy. On the contrary, many of the beneficiaries were on the side of the military with some of them openly working against the validation of June 12 election results.
Since 1999 we have seen parasitic, capricious and opportunistic politicians parading the political space. Politicians who care less about the welfare and wellbeing of those they represent; politicians who want to win election by all means; politicians who circumvent the electoral process to promote their selfish interests; politicians who want to hold on to power forever, even at the detriment of their states and country; and we have seen politicians who are not bothered about the fragility of the democratic process in so far as they have their ways. The chairman of a ruling party even boasted that his party will rule the country for 50 years. Such callous and insensitive statements that have no place in a decent political environment were frequently by our politicians.
The solace however is that a day like this reminds those who occupy political positions in the country that some people laid down their lives for us to have democracy. It’s a day like this that we all remember the sacrifices made by Abiola and other patriots. The billionaire businessman would have chickened out by negotiating with the junta and smiling home with his billions, but he refused to capitulate and fought to the end. He lost his life and his businesses in the process, but his name will ring loud forever. And since we cannot act Hamlet without the Prince, we cannot equally mark June 12 without celebrating the contributions of Abiola to the current civilian rule.
This day will remain a symbolic and sacred one many decades to come and will be a veritable reminder that good deeds will always bear positive fruits. However, in the same corollary, June 12 will be a day to remember, though in a negative way, those who annulled the election. It will indeed, be a day to vilify, demonize and berate people like Babangida, Abacha and all those who collude with them in destroying the will of the people and denying them the opportunity to have a sincere and good governance. Events have since shown that IBB and his co-travelers are on the wrong side of history and their various attempts to rewrite what happened have proved abortive. Nigerians have not forgotten nor have they forgiven those who denied Abiola his mandate and ultimately refused to release him until he died in captivity.
Thus, as we again mark this all important day, the minimum demand is that our politicians must play by the rules; now that the country is facing enormous security challenge, all hands must be on deck to solve it; those at the helm should know that the country is bigger than anyone and that power is transient. And failure to build enduring democratic institutions will come back to haunt all of them.