The conference outcome made it obvious that General Sani Abacha was determined to remain in power, and for the opposition, it became a time for confrontation. The author provides a detailed account of the processes that led to the formation of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO). The coalition emerged from concerns over Abacha's constitutional conference and the need for a backup plan. Numerous meetings were held, beginning with a handshake across the Niger River, uniting the East and West to form a southern front. Regional consultations followed with the Middle Belt, the East, and the North, culminating in a formal meeting of the Campaign for Unity and Understanding (CUU) with Chief M.K.O. Abiola, who embraced the idea of a Government of National Unity (GNU) and the convening of a Sovereign National Conference (SNC).
Early Initiatives and Coalition Building
Usman Katsina took an early initiative to build a northern bloc to support the actualization of the June 12 mandate. However, this effort was undermined by Adebayo's unilateral press briefing, which introduced an ethnic tone and alienated the Arewa North. On May 16, 1994, the idea of a national coalition was made public, with affirmations from the East, West, and Middle Belt. The author also highlights the firm stance of Middle Belt elements within the CUU, which proved instrumental in forming the coalition. Earlier attempts at coalition building in 1993 and 1994, initiated by Babagana Kingibe, Abiola's running mate, and Tunji Otegbeye, a veteran labor leader, are also noted.
Abiola's Character and the Epetedo Declaration
In the NADECO story, Opadokun showcases the strength of character of Chief Abiola, the symbol of June 12. He is portrayed as a quintessential round character, in the words of E.M. Forster. This is vividly illustrated in the Epetedo Declaration of June 11, 1994, where Abiola claimed his mandate and confronted agents of international organizations. The declaration was an unprecedented show of courage, proving the substance of his chieftaincy title as the Are Ona Kankanfo (Generalissimo) of Yoruba land and, in this context, of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The declaration stated: "Our patience has come to an end. As of now, from this moment, a new government of National Unity is in power throughout the length and breadth of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, led by me, Bashorun M.K.O. Abiola, as President and Commander-in-Chief. The National Assembly is hereby reconvened. All dismissed governors are reinstated."
Options Considered Before the Declaration
The Epetedo Declaration was a strategic move in power politics. Three options were considered for Abiola to reclaim his mandate. The first involved placing the President-elect on a ship flying a foreign flag in Nigerian waters, with a judge administering the oath of office on board, or using a friendly embassy. Under international conventions, ships and embassies flying foreign flags are inviolable, and this would be followed by intense lobbying for de facto recognition. The second option was a lawsuit filed by Abiola against the Interim National Government (ING) Decree No. 61, pending before Justice Dolapo Akinsanya. A favorable ruling would create a power vacuum for Abiola to fill by moving into a friendly embassy, being sworn in, and appointing a cabinet. The third option, the Epetedo plan, which was autonomous and free from foreign interference, prevailed.
Abiola's Refusal to Surrender His Mandate
Amid diplomatic maneuvering by the international community, Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, and Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, urged Abiola to sign a statement that he would not declare himself president after his release. This was a negation of the call for his unconditional release. The visit was spun to suggest that Abiola had abandoned his mandate. However, his letter of July 5, 1998, to Pa Abraham Adesanya negated this allegation. The letter demonstrated Abiola's political sophistication. An excerpt reads: "I learnt that a newspaper published disinformation about my meeting with Kofi Annan and Chief Anyaoku. Yes, they asked me for a signed statement that I will not declare myself President again after my release. They believe such a signed statement will enable the Federal Military Government to give me an UNCONDITIONAL release. Firstly, the release, I said, ceases to be unconditional if it can only be brought about by the type of statement they demanded. Secondly, any statement will be worthless, being obtained by duress. Thirdly, my declaration of 11/6/94 was made at a big rally with thousands present. A private statement of the type they demand will do a discredit to me and to the Federal Military Government. No withdrawal of the earlier declaration can be valid if not made in the same way as the one it wants to negate. Fourthly, I do not need to make another declaration since the 11/6/94 one still subsists and has served and is still serving the purpose for which it was made. It is this last point that must have been twisted as a withdrawal. Tell me, Sir, if I was told to withdraw, was it to the two diplomats that I would withdraw? Something seriously must have been wrong with them."
Abiola also addressed the argument that the mandate had lapsed after five years. He replied: "The lapse was caused by series of illegalities and criminalities perpetrated by IBB and Abacha: IBB's purported cancellation and Abacha's determination to usurp my legitimate position by locking me in one room until I pass away. Can a criminal profit from his criminality? They had no answer to that. On legal advice, I told the diplomats that no political crisis is ever settled by 'legal advice.' I told them confidently that the logic of events will disprove their theoretic diplomatic fancies, God willing."
Consequences of the Epetedo Declaration
The Epetedo Declaration brought severe consequences. The Abacha regime employed strong-arm tactics: Abiola was arrested and charged with treasonable felony. Many opposition members were placed on watch lists, banned from traveling, and their homes and property were targeted by arsonists. In one instance, NADECO deputy leader Chief Anthony Enahoro was detained on a staircase. Better counsel prevailed, and many key pro-democracy figures fled the country through the famous NADECO route on Nigeria's southern border. Professor Wole Soyinka formed the National Liberation Council of Nigeria (NALICON). Their activities abroad led to the establishment of Radio Kudirat and the convening of the World Congress of Free Nigerians. These complemented the opposition campaign of defiance at home, sustained through collaboration with the Campaign for Democracy, United Action for Democracy, factions of the labor movement, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).
The Endgame and International Involvement
The author references the role of sympathetic state operatives, echoing Soyinka's observation that the humanitarian act of courage by exceptional jailers plays a key role in a prisoner's survival. The resistance of the opposition is presented with philosophical reflection on the nature of opposition politics, dangers, and incarceration. Historical betrayals of the June 12 struggle are treated in what the author calls "the hall of shame." The endgame and its dynamics are explored. The bugbear of the U.S.-led international community was the potential domino effect of a Nigerian implosion, as foreshadowed by Robert Kaplan in The Coming Anarchy (1994). The West's formula, akin to the Pakistan experiment with Zia-ul-Haq, involved a surgical operation that removed the two principal actors—Abacha and Abiola—from the stage, dousing the Nigerian fire and preserving existing interests. A few months before the events of June and July 1998, the West had deployed special operatives posing as diplomats. Both Abacha and Abiola died. Jim Hoagland of the Washington Post noted: "Fantastic, fatal coincidence? Or transparent plot to do in a troublesome politician who may have been balking at the deal the Americans were underwriting?" Thomas Friedman later wrote in the New York Times (January 19, 1999): "No one quite knows how Nigeria's evil dictator Sani Abacha died last June at age 54, but the story that has made the rounds goes like this: Several Nigerian officers who finally got fed up with General Abacha's utterly venal and corrupt rule got together, imported three prostitutes from India, sent them to his villa with a poison, which he somehow ingested (One report says it may have been in his Viagra) and then dropped dead. The three prostitutes were back on a plane to India before General Abacha's body was cold. Whatever the details, a senior U.S. official privy to the intelligence told me: 'Let's just say Abacha did not die a natural death and he did not die alone.'"
New Frontiers After the Deaths
The demise of the two principal actors presented new frontiers for resolving the impasse. Three positions emerged: NADECO's position, the military's position, and that of the international community. With the emergence of Abdulsalami Abubakar as Head of State, the NADECO delegation met the new regime and proposed the formation of a GNU headed by Abiola with the sole agenda of convoking an SNC to address the national question. The Federal Military Government rejected the GNU proposal, citing a lack of grassroots support, and preferred a short transition to civil rule. The international community wanted Abiola to drop his claim to the mandate and pave the way for a new transition process. President Clinton's press interview in Accra, stating that the U.S. would support any democratic process, erased any doubt. Despite contradictions, the author acknowledges the salient role of the international community, particularly Canada, which closed its embassy, and Ambassador Walter Carrington, who stood with pro-democrats. Nordic countries like Sweden and Norway lent immeasurable support.
Conclusion and Legacy
The struggle of NADECO and the broader pro-democracy movement unleashed a process of reconfiguring power equations in Nigeria. June 12 is now Nigeria's Democracy Day, but the scale needs to be tilted in favor of ordinary Nigerians. The NADECO story has different dimensions for future researchers to critically engage with. The work, a harvest of raw data and documentary evidence, is presented in ways that readers can decipher Nigeria's power dynamics and identify the heroes and villains of the struggle for democracy. The author rightly concludes: "...let Nigeria be blessed with the types and memory of the political saints and martyrs, within and outside NADECO, who joined the godly angels in the struggle to make Nigeria, not just the greatest Black nation in the world, but a shining star in the galaxy of superpowers."
