After prolonged resistance, former president, Muhammadu Buhari, on June 6, 2018, declared June 12 Nigeria’s Democracy Day. Before then Democracy Day was celebrated on May 29, the day the military handed over to elected civilians. 

The agitation for making June 12 our Democracy Day was rooted in the logic that June 12, 1993, was the day Nigeria conducted the freest, fairest, most peaceful and widely acclaimed presidential and other elections in our history. The annulment of that presidential election and subsequent death of its winner, Chief Moshood Abiola, in detention were the heights of military impunity that must not be repeated in our history.

The celebration of June 12 Democracy Day was meant to remind generations of Nigerians of what it stands for, because those who fail to learn from their history are condemned to repeat it. It should provide the government and the people the opportunity to review and improve our democracy.

Unfortunately, political officeholders now see our Democracy Day as an opportunity to celebrate their attainment of power, irrespective of the crimes and corruption committed along the way. It has become a hollow ritual.

The controversy caused by  the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, led by its outgoing Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, and his team in 2023 through the unexplained “glitch” in its system is fresh for anyone to contemplate the possibility of free and fair elections in the foreseeable future.

Apart from the rot in the electoral umpire, the judiciary, which is empowered to give justice to whom it is due after elections, has also been accused of selling out to corrupt, powerful politicians. People rig elections and brazenly tell their opponents to “go to court” knowing the courts are compromised. Gone are the days when a Chibuike Amaechi can go to court and reclaim his governorship mandate from a sitting governor fully backed up by the President.

After 26 years of our democracy, media harassment, intimidation and policy squeezing are back. The civil society and Labour have seemingly been subdued, and the people have become so impoverished that they can no longer protest. Poverty has been weaponised against the people, and the drift to a one party state appears unstoppable.

After an initial 16 years of economic growth and debt reduction, over 150 million Nigerians now wallow in multidimensional poverty, with over 20 million children out of school. Where are the dividends of democracy, which should spur and justify our celebration of Democracy Day? Any wonder that the people have abandoned the celebration to government officials?

Without the restoration of free and fair elections and good governance, our Democracy Day is irrelevant.