Just before Gen. Sani Abacha’s death on 8 June 1998, a sacrilegious political campaign to democratize the military junta began. This movement had its rally in many cities on the 3rd and 4th of March 1998. To many, the movement, named as Youth Earnestly Ask for Abacha (YEAA), heralded disdain in their ears anytime it is mentioned. But in essence, it capped off several other activist movements which had fought Abacha for years and showed by example how an ideal and well-funded political platform should be.
Championed by Dr. Daniel Kanu, a young Nigerian who had just returned from studying abroad, the movement aimed to mobilize enough support from the youth base to allow Abacha have a safe transition into a democratic government. Youth Earnestly Ask for Abacha (YEAA), was one of the fanatical groups which featured prominently in organising and in the build-up to the 2 million man march. Other youth groups which were set up to drive the 2 Million Man March are National Council of Youth Associations of Nigeria (NACYAN) and the National Committee of Youth Associations (NCYA).
Daniel Kanu of the YEAA was once quoted to have remarked that, “the destiny of this nation and the transition to democracy under the present dispensation can only achieve its viable potentials if handled by prudent, purposeful, and transparent leadership of General Abacha”.
The politics of sycophancy had its roots, even in the years preceding the return of full democracy to Nigeria. General Sani Abacha was once quoted to have referred to Daniel Kanu as “the universal coordinator” of the group which hailed him as the next messiah of the nation.
Upon Abacha’s surprising death on June 8, 1998, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar who took over military power could not have allowed the opportunity of riding on the wave of the buzzing and renewed drive for a nascent democracy to pass. It was said that he banked on this same momentum to allow the return of the country to democracy, upon which the foundations of the 4th Republic was built, when he eventually declared that democratic elections would be held in February 1999.
It was on the back of YEAA’s suceessful rallies and campaigns, reputed to have gulped up to N500 million of Abacha’s money, that several other political parties were formed to challenge the growing popularity of the movement.
By September 10, 1998, it was reported that Agenda ’99 (another group which had spun off from the 2 Million Man March) had sought registration as a new political party under the name of Masses Democratic Party (MDP), while the YEAA evolved into a party known as the Mass Democratic Movement (MDM) with Daniel Kanu still at the helms. The People’s Democratic Movement (PDM), which also housed some of the earliest members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), took better form in 1998, as one of the parallel political movements which stood as alternatives to the Abacha-funded platforms. Manifestos rolled out and several other political parties began spinning off this renewed drive, especially in protest against, and as opposition to the Abacha-funded movements.
There is no doubt that the re-emergence of these youth led organisations brought about a level playing ground for anyone who wished to participate in politics by year 1999 when elections since the annulment of the 1993 elections would be held.
Loads of Abacha’s dollars may have funded the beginning of a much-loathed political movement which geared the execution of the 2 Million Man March and one which asked that a corrupt head of state be institutionalized as a democratic president; but what Abacha could not have seen or envisaged was how he would not live to see the size of the political realisation which culminated from his selfish ambition.
References
Refworld
Wikipedia
Featured image source: Galaxy Television
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