Military Rule and the June 12 Election
Soldiers rule Nigeria for 29 of its first 39 years; the annulment of the 1993 election and the Abacha dictatorship mark the darkest stretch.
- A History of Nigeria — Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton, Cambridge University Press (2008)
- Crippled Giant: Nigeria since Independence — Eghosa E. Osaghae, Hurst (1998)
- Nigeria: What Everyone Needs to Know — John Campbell and Matthew T. Page, Oxford University Press (2018)
After the civil war, military governments ruled until 1979, when Olusegun Obasanjo handed power to an elected civilian, Shehu Shagari. That Second Republic, marked by corruption and an oil-price slump, was overthrown on 31 December 1983 by Muhammadu Buhari, whose “War Against Indiscipline” made people queue at bus stops under the eyes of soldiers. Ibrahim Babangida ousted him in 1985 and promised a return to democracy.
- A History of Nigeria — Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton, Cambridge University Press (2008)
- Crippled Giant: Nigeria since Independence — Eghosa E. Osaghae, Hurst (1998)
On 12 June 1993 Nigerians voted in what many still call the freest election in their history. The businessman Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, a Yoruba Muslim, was winning votes across the country when Babangida annulled the result. After months of turmoil, General Sani Abacha seized power in November 1993. Abiola declared himself president in 1994 and was jailed; his wife Kudirat was assassinated in 1996. Abacha’s regime jailed critics, executed Ken Saro-Wiwa and looted billions of dollars. Abacha died suddenly in June 1998, and Abiola died in custody a month later.
- A History of Nigeria — Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton, Cambridge University Press (2008)
- Crippled Giant: Nigeria since Independence — Eghosa E. Osaghae, Hurst (1998)
- Nigeria: What Everyone Needs to Know — John Campbell and Matthew T. Page, Oxford University Press (2018)
Why it matters today
Many of today's leaders rose under military rule, and its habits, a powerful centre, impunity and rule by decree, are still felt. June 12, the date of the annulled 1993 election, has been Nigeria's Democracy Day since 2019, and for many south-western Nigerians in particular it stands for a stolen victory.