In his concept of history, Walter Benjamin of the Frankfurt School poses the question: 'With whom does the historical writer of historicism actually empathize?' He answers: 'Irrefutably with the victor.' This observation underscores how the dominant narrative has reduced the epic struggle of pro-democracy activists to triviality since the beginning of the Fourth Republic in 1999. In that narrative, the vanquished is cast as the villain. This understanding is the motivation for 'The NADECO Story,' a tale that must be told to the present and next generation.
The Need for an Authentic Narrative
The author highlights the need for an authentic narrative, noting misrepresentations by several writers and observers of the struggle against military rule in Nigeria. Those who presided over a regime of dictatorship have been unable to erase the historical struggle of Nigerians for democracy since the truncation of the Second Republic in December 1983. Also, those who inherited power from the military have been unable to rewrite our struggle for democracy, despite being unworthy beneficiaries of the outcome. Pro-democracy activists' memoirs and testaments of military autocracy have preserved the memory of the historic struggle. Accounts ranging from Wole Soyinka's 'The Open Sore of a Continent' (1996) to Abdul Oroh's 'Demonstration of Craze' (2025) have dwarfed those of the traducers. 'The NADECO Story' comes in that fashion.
Ayo Opadokun's Detailed Account
Ayo Opadokun, the author, provides a detailed account of the 'Lugardian architecture,' that is, the Nigerian system nurtured by a veto and conscious erasure of the grains of liberal and progressive society. He reveals in the 'amalgamation of 1914' the roots of the national question and Northern exceptionalism. The amalgamation merged the administration of the North and South, but not the people of the regions. This was evident in the Land and Native Rights Proclamation of 1910, which empowered the Northern administration to control immigration from the South and exercise discretion on the grant of a Certificate of Occupancy. In the post-independence era, the practice of domination reared its head in the entrenchment of ethno-religious forces in the military. Therefore, it is easy for a reader to appreciate the Nigerian condition and the path to the annulment of the 12 June 1993 presidential election won by Chief Moshood Kasmawo Abiola.
Contradictions Fueling Pro-Democracy Engagement
Opadokun foregrounds the immediate contradictions that fueled the historic pro-democracy engagement with the military. They include the Babangida regime's overbureaucratisation of the state; economic mismanagement under the platform of the Structural Adjustment Programme; and the initiation of the transition to civil rule programme aptly dubbed by Larry Diamond et al. as 'Transition without End.' Once the regime imposed its two parties on the country, namely, the National Republican Convention (NRC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the power game took a new turn. Abiola was not an accidental candidate. The Council for Unity and Understanding (CUU), a product of wide consultation that originated from the East, built a national consensus on the alternation of power to the South in the Third Republic. Elements of the CUU, with the Elders Committee, played a substantive role in the composition of the party, the emergence of Abiola as a presidential candidate, and the choice of his running mate.
The Babangida Regime's Antics
The author accounts for the antics of the Babangida regime in the activities of the Association for Better Nigeria (ABN) to scuttle the presidential election by subverting the transition enabling decrees, especially the Basic Constitutional and Transition Provision Decree No. 13 of 1993. Nevertheless, the election was eventually annulled by those who were not only 'in government but in power.' A corresponding resistance by local and international forces followed. It was widely condemned, underlining the political and moral weight of the annulment. On the heels of the condemnation and the palpable tension in the polity, the regime installed Chief Ernest Shonekan, a former United African Company (UAC) chairman, as Head of Interim National Government (ING) under the ING (Basic Constitutional Provisions) Decree No 61, 1993. While it paved the way for Babangida's 'Honourable disengagement,' it set the stage for further deepening of military dictatorship.
The Abacha Era
In November 1993, General Sani Abacha, the Secretary of Defence, toppled the ING. Whatever reason the military has for coup-making, Ruth First, in her 'The Barrel of a Gun,' moderated it to say the army takes over for army reasons. Expectedly, the author beams his searchlight on the intrigues surrounding the coming of the 'child of necessity.' In the incubation period, the pro-democracy movement was seen as a possible obstacle. First, there was the ambush provision in Section 5 (48) of the ING Decree 61 of 1993 that states: 'the most senior minister shall hold the office of the Interim National Government if the office of the Head of the Interim Government (ING) becomes vacant by reason of death or resignation.' Intrigues belong to the substance of politics. Opadokun uncovers a red herring in Abacha's scheme for power. He and his acolytes reached out to the political class and the pro-democracy movement and sold the idea to convene a Sovereign National Conference (SNC) and release Abiola to form a Government of National Unity (GNU).
The Game of Opportunism
The 'child of necessity' was born, and the game of opportunism ensued. The elite scramble for political positions in Abacha's government undermined the 12 June mandate. Abacha consolidated his hold on power, spawning the emergence of a 'Borno power bloc.' The subsequent convening of the national conference was an exercise to secure legitimacy and was soon undermined by the shifting agenda of whether the conference would be sovereign or not, whether there would be no-go areas or not. Social forces in society were driven into a frenzy, articulating positions that would have no effect on the conference. However, the conference revealed sectional opportunism in terms of participation. The Igbo's participation raised the spectre of ancient mistrust, while late General Oladipo Diya employed a divide-and-rule tactic through the Oni of Ife, which created discontent among the Yoruba. On account of these, the Yoruba delegation withdrew. The conference neglected fundamental issues to focus on the tenure limit that required Abacha to exit in 1996 and the institutionalisation of rotational presidency. These were rejected by Abacha, resulting in the imposition of a twisted French governmental model. The conference ended with two controversial reports, one engrossed by Justice Adolphus Karibi-Whyte, the conference chairman, and another cooked by Alhaji Aminu Saleh, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
Akhaine is a Professor in the Department of Political Science, Lagos State University.
