June 12: What has changed?

22 years after the historic June 12, 1993 presidential election, the political configurations that define success and loss in elections are little changed.

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

It was 22 years ago today that Nigerians went to the polls to elect what has been dubbed the freest presidential election in a generation.

The election had the pair of Chief Moshood Abiola and Ambassador Babagana Kingibe as presidential candidate and running mate on the ticket of the Social Democratic Party, SDP and Alhaji Bashir Tofa and Dr. Sylvester Ugoh running as presidential candidate and vice-presidential candidate of the National Republican Convention, NRC.

That election, however, became the subject of intrigues that almost undermined the country’s survival.

Several bridges were crossed in the approach to that election, especially on the part of the winning pair of Abiola and Kingibe.

Abiola had to run with Kingibe on the prompting of the powerful SDP governors including one Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, then the governor of Edo State and now, 22 years after, the chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, the party that has just formed the Federal Government.

Abiola who was backed by the powerful machine of Major-General Shehu Yar‘adua had the difficult option of choosing between the pair of Yar‘Adua’s point man, at that time, a recently retired Customs official, Atiku Abubakar and Kingibe.

In the end, Abiola under pressure from the governors chose Kingibe to the displeasure of Yar‘adua who reluctantly backed him in the election.

The election was historic in that Nigerians put aside religious prejudice to endorse a Muslim-Muslim ticket as presented by Abiola and Kingibe.

22 years after, religion has become a major tool in political discourse.

The seemingly innocuous attempt by the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to put his name on the ticket of the APC in the 2015 election received harsh reviews from the political class.

It is now accepted wisdom that Nigeria will for now not contemplate a Christian-Christian or a Muslim-Muslim presidential candidate.

One of the security reasons given by the military junta that had as its point men, one General David Mark was the influence of money by Abiola in winning the SDP ticket at the Jos convention.

In Abiola’s time, money was reportedly ferried in naira. 22 years after, the preferred currency for political bribery has been dollarized.

The United States currency according to multiple sources was the major instrument used by one of the presidential candidates in the 2015 election in wooing many Southwest traditional rulers.

The June 12 presidential election was conducted using an open ballot system, famously dubbed as Option A4. Under the system, voters lined up openly to vote for each of the candidates they were voting.

There was no card reader, no ballot box snatching and no provision of N80 billion or so to print ballot papers and other electoral materials.

22 years after, the idea of open voting has become anathema to many Nigerian political stakeholders.