The Shadow of June 12

While the current government has declared June 12 ‘Democracy Day’, the underlying forces that worked to keep the June 12 struggle alive remain under-discussed.

Written by Baba Aye

Feb 14, 2022

Photography by Eddie Mulholland / IMS Vintage Photos.

Political parties in Nigeria are already gearing up for the next general election, coming up in the first quarter of 2023. The 2023 election will be the seventh election in succession since civil rule was reinstated in 1999, after 16 years of military rule. The last six years of that military interregnum was politically defined by what has entered the history books as the ‘June 12 Struggle’. ‘June 12’ was a defining moment in Nigeria’s history and yet it has not received as much critical attention as it deserves. While the current government has declared June 12 ‘Democracy Day’, the underlying forces that worked to keep the June 12 struggle alive remain under-discussed.

The annulment of the presidential election held on June 12, 1993, sparked a chain of events that began with civic uprisings in Lagos and across Nigeria, saw a military coup that installed General Sani Abacha as Nigeria’s leader and concluded with the reinstatement of civilian rule in 1999. During those six years of revolution and counter-revolution, Nigeria’s socialist left was at the heart of the democracy movement that led the struggle on Nigeria’s streets and beyond.

The left organized within the human rights community, using organizations such as the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO) and Committee for the Defense of Human Rights (CDHR). And at the arrowhead of their organizing and mobilization efforts were coalitions. The first of these was the Campaign for Democracy (CD). This coalition was formed in November 1991 and took a stand against the military-led political transition that led to the June 12 elections. It called for the overthrow of the military junta, and for military rule to be replaced by a provisional government which would immediately convoke a sovereign national conference (SNC).

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About the Author

Baba Aye

is a trade unionist and a contributing editor of the Review of African Political Economy. He played leading roles in the National Association of Nigerian Students, Campaign for Democracy, and United Action for Democracy during the June 12 struggle.

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The Shadow of June 12