Nigeria’s democracy fragile, can collapse any time – Agbakoba

Former president of the Nigerian Bar Association, Dr Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, shares his thoughts with ONOZURE DANIA on Nigeria’s democracy, 2023 elections, among other issues

You played a prominent role in the protest against the annulment of June 12. How has the cancellation of that election affected Nigeria’s democracy?

That was a very good election. The election was very free and very fair and most Nigerians believed that Chief MKO Abiola was the popular candidate with the clear mandate to deliver on what President (Olusegun) Obasanjo has called the dividend of democracy. Unfortunately, the victory of Abiola was aborted by the military. How it has affected Nigeria is that we still have the belief that our elections are not free and fair and that there are forces that can control it. If you look at all the elections since then, the general perception is that it is neither free nor fair. It was only until the time of (Attahiru) Jega that people began to…