May 29, until now, was just an ordinary day. No United Nation’s Day, No International Day. No global anniversary. Nothing, except that John F. Kennedy, the assassinated US President, was born on May 29, 1917. My problem started with the 1914 Amalgamation and Flora Shaw’s (Lord Lugard’s wife) Nigeria. We can’t forget the sweat and blood of the struggle for independence! On May 30, 1967, while my parents were discussing having another child, Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu declared The Republic of Biafra! I hate to talk about the several May 29s of the three years civil war – my hospital delivery amidst gunshots, my first birthday with helicopter hovering overhead to be sure the gathering was not rebel troops, etc.
The real trouble started in my university. By way of background, in April 1978, “Ali Must Go!”, the first major students’ riot against fees increase crippled Nigeria leading to the death of many students, especially in ABU, Zaria. The anniversary of that event often spilled into May, causing protest and school closures. Besides, ABU never really forgave the military government and was always in the forefront of any agitations or protests. On May 23, 1986, a few days to my Jambite birthday, “Ango Must Go!” exploded across Nigeria when innocent ABU students were murdered in cold-blood by security forces. On my 19th birthday, I was dodging bullets and teargas to get to the motor park on the way to Benin following school closure. For the next four years throughout my university days, every anniversary of the ABU massacre led to more riots, more killings and indefinite school closures. One of such led IBB military government to close the universities for nearly a year, leading to the now famous, “6yrs for a 4yrs course’ due to ASUU strike.
After university, I managed to rescue my birthday from Nigeria but not for long. Nigeria happened again on June 12, 1993, 13 days after my birthday and this time, I lost control totally. Everything from then on was either June 12 Anniversary or days before. Hear me, while I was still enjoying my birthday cake, on June 4, 1996, Kudirat Abiola was assassinated on the street of Lagos. I almost went into coma! Who will be this wicked to lock up her husband, the one alleged to have committed treason and kill his wife! A classic case of visiting the sins of the “husband on his wife” After Kudirat’s death, I suspended celebration of my birthday definitely. It was a wise preemptive decision because on June 8, 1998, Gen. Sani Abacha suddenly died. Knowing Nigeria, I concluded that June 12 or June 8 would never go away. And I was right. But the worse was yet to come!
As if things were not bad enough, before my very eyes, the new Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, in a national live broadcast proclaimed May 29, 1999 as the new handover date. After that broadcast, we sat still; no one uttered a word. Some awkward moments passed and my boss (back then) said, “May 29? No national significance” Unconsciously, I replied, “it’s my birthday” His friend responded, looking straight at me, “Good for you, but October 1 is better” I had mixed feelings then about the change to May 29 and I still do even now! From that very day, I switched off on politics, having expended much time and energy on the June 12 struggle.
My interest in politics was restored when late President Umaru Yar’Adua openly confessed that the election that brought him to power was flawed! I stand corrected, he’s probably the first President, worldwide, to make such a claim! He insisted on electoral reforms for credible, free and fair election. Sadly, he passed on and the new President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan remained true to the cause. On the path to electoral credibility, card readers, among others, were introduced and this time, I was sure to celebrate May 29, 2015 at the Eagle Square with the new President whoever won. This was not to be as large-scale reliance on incidence forms by INEC and massive under-age voting in many parts of the country marred the process. I refused to attend that eagerly awaited handover.
From 2016 – 2022, my expectations were level and I was rarely disappointed. During this period, INEC began a series of electoral reforms for transparent, free and fair election. A new electoral law was signed, abolishing the incidence form. The acclaimed game-changer, the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BIVAS) was introduced in 2021, and real-time, polling unit level result upload on iREV, a viewing portal of election results was introduced to prevent rigging.
Finally, Nigeria was about to have a credible election, even better that June 12, 1993. The expectation was palpable; coupled with the agitation by youths to take back their country from the ruling class! I ordered two suits, my tailor made two native attires for my May 29, 2023 celebration; because I believed that whoever wins the 2023 Presidential Election will be the people’s choice!
The Presidential and National Assembly election on Saturday, February 25, 2023, was an anti-climax! BIVAS failed to transmit/upload results and iREV malfunctioned. Everything fell apart. Again, I suspended my May 29 Birthday, but this time to reflect deeply on my beloved country.
Frankly, I strongly feel that the FG SHOULD MOVE HANDOVER DATE BACK TO OCTOBER 1, SO I CAN HAVE MY MAY 29TH BACK.
Okogun, an expert in Organisation and Management, is based in Lagos.
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