Democracy Derailed

On June 12, 1993, Nigerian citizens overcame ethnic and regional rivalries in an effort to rid themselves of military rule and hold a legitimate presidential election. Gen. Babangida and his cronies, however, have shown no intention of allowing civilians a significant voice in government and annulled the election and postponed his exit from politics. The brutal crackdown by military and security forces that followed the election’s annulment has resulted in over a hundred deaths and hundreds of arrests of pro-democracy demonstrators.