June 12: Hope Deferred
Listen now
Description
It was June 15 1993, three days after the June 12 election and the National Electoral Commission had released results from 14 states, including the Federal Capital Territory. From the results, MKO Abiola was in the clear lead. It seemed like MKO had won the election. All around Nigeria, people were hopeful and eager for a democratic future with a leader they had chosen.  But on June 16, the Abuja High Court called for the suspension of the remaining results. Shock rippled through Nigeria. To many Nigerians, the election had been fair and unproblematic, so the suspension immediately raised some red flags. Protests took over the streets. Lawyers got busy preparing to contest the suspension. Then on the 23rd of June, just eleven days after the election that had inspired so much hope, Nigerians had their fears materialize when IBB announced he was annulling the election. How did Nigerians react to this? In this episode, Wale Lawal finds some answers. Learn more at ⁠⁠republic.com.ng/podcasts/⁠⁠.
More Episodes
African history is not yet mainstream and we're on a mission to change this. The Republic is a miniseries covering key events and figures in African history. Our second season focuses on the life and legacy of Ken Saro-Wiwa, a writer and one of nine non-violent Ogoni activists the General Sani...
Published 10/10/24
Published 10/10/24
IBB had just stepped down from the presidential seat and handed the responsibility over to the technocrat, Ernest Shonekan. Despite being unpopular (at least compared to MKO Abiola), Shonekan promised to serve Nigeria with all his heart and to be faithful, loyal and honest. Unfortunately for him,...
Published 11/26/23