DEMOCRACY DAY MESSAGE BY AARE OLUMUYIWA AKINBORO,SAN,FCIARB (UK),FCIMC,LIFE BENCHER,

DEMOCRACY DAY MESSAGE BY AARE OLUMUYIWA AKINBORO,SAN,

FCIARB (UK),FCIMC,LIFE BENCHER. 

Today June 12,2025 marks 26 years of unbroken and uninterrupted civilian

rule in Nigeria since 1999.

June 12 was rightly designated as democracy day as it was on this day on June

12,1993 that Nigerians eschewed ethnicity,religion,gender and all divisive

tendencies and fault lines to speak with one voice and elect Alhaji M.K.O

Abiola the winner of what has been widely acknowledged as the freest and

fairest presidential election in the annals of Nigeria's electoral history.

Sadly,since the election of June 12,1993,no election has recorded similar

wide acceptance as being free,fair and transparent as every subsequent

elections have been subject of different manipulations and condemnations

that always end up in election petitions.

Late President Umaru Musa Yaradua(God rest his soul)publicly

acknowledged the flaws that characterized the election that produced him as

President and immediately set up a process for electoral reforms.Ever since

then,there have been different reforms and even amendments of the Electoral

Act aimed towards achieving transparency and credibility in our elections,

however,the extent to which these objectives have been attained remains a

subject of debate till date as we continue to have serious complaints of

widespread manipulations and non-compliance with the provisions of the

Electoral Act and Electoral Guidelines in all our elections such that over 90

percent of our elections still end up in Election Tribunals.

This Democracy day therefore calls for reflection as a nation on our

democratic values,particularly as it relates to our elections and the necessary

reforms that need to be put in place to make it transparent and credible.This

is important because democracy is not just about civilian rule but more

importantly about the supremacy of the will of the legitimate majority,

expressed through a transparent and credible process.

The Nigerian Bar Association has consistently urged for Nigeria's electoral

reforms towards achieving free and fair elections however,as an association it

would appear that the story of the Nigerian elections has become the story of

our professional elections.

Since the return of the Nigerian Bar Association at the national level in 1998 following the Port-Harcourt crisis of 1992,all our elections, though might have had some minor flaws,they were nevertheless

always widely accepted by members as a true reflection of the will of the

association

However,since the advent of the electronic voting system in 2016,all our

elections now end up in litigation to challenge the process upon similar

complaints as to the manipulation of the votes from the back end.

Successive leadership of the Bar have promised reform of the process in order

to make it more transparent and credible however the extent to which the

reforms have yielded the desired objective remains a subject of debate as

same pattern of complaints continue to characterize our elections.

As an association,we must bear it in mind that we are the watchdog of the

society hence we are expected to manage our affairs better,so as to serve as

an example to the entire nation as we cannot have a log of wood in our own

eyes while trying to remove a perk from the eyes of others.

On this democracy day therefore,there is the need for the NBA to also

introspect and come up with reforms that will ensure the transparency and

credibility of our elections particularly with a view to removing all forms of

opacity in our processes and restoring the confidence of our members in our

electoral system.

I encourage the current leadership of the Bar ably led by Mazi Afam Asigwe,

SAN to lead the charge to reform our electoral process and to leave as part of

the legacy of the Proactive Bar the restoration of the confidence of our

members in the legitimacy and credibility of our elections.

Finally I congratulate the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Asiwaju

Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR on this year's democracy day celebration.

I also congratulate the President of the Nigerian Bar Association,Mazi Afam

Osigwe SAN.

It is my earnest prayer that true democratic principles will continue to be

entrenched in our nation and association.

Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria

Long live the Nigerian Bar Association.

Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro,SAN,FCIArb (UK),FCIMC,Life Bencher.

Past General Secretary,Nigerian Bar Association.