When patterns and pictures that preceded a monumental calamity begin to reappear on stage in the current affairs of a society, it is a signal for discerning members of that society to spring into action to avert a repeat of bitter history.

As Nigeria observes the Armed Forces Remembrance Day on Sunday, let us also remember and reflect upon the events – the electoral frauds – that triggered the first military coup in Nigeria, of which consequences we are still suffering till today.

From all indications, the political conditions that preceded Nigeria’s Parliamentary elections of 1964, the 1966 military coup, and the civil war, appear to be returning to the stage in 2023.

As at 1964, the Northern People’s Congress, NPC, which was in power at the centre, had teamed up with the Nigerian National Democratic Party, NNDP, which broke away from the Action Group, AG. Their alliance was called Nigerian National Alliance, NNA.

With federal might, NNA engaged in open hostility in the North and West with the United Progressive Grand Alliance, UPGA, mainly peopled by members of National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons, NCNC, and AG.

The attacks by the federal-empowered NNA against UPGA were so severe that UPGA boycotted the election, which were reportedly massively rigged. Things, however, came to a head when the 1965 elections into the Western House of Assembly were also allegedly rigged.

Because those elections were imbued with a lot of regional interests, just exactly as we have it now among the leading political parties, the daylight robbery, as the rigging was called, elicited so much anger in the Western Region which in turn sparked civil unrest tagged ‘Operation Wetie’ – the killing, burning and looting of property belonging to members of opposing political parties.

Anarchy was spreading like harmattan fire. The Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, declared a state of emergency in the Western Region.

According to the Nigeria Police Report of August 1966: “…Sometime during August 1965, a small group of Army officers, dissatisfied with political developments, began to plot the overthrow of the government….” But it was Jide Olanrewaju, in his audio-visual documentary of 2007 titled: ‘Real Story of Nigeria’ that captured it more precisely:

“So, since 1965, the army is watching all of this from the sideline and is getting increasingly frustrated as they see the elite fight each other for power. Due to the ongoing violence in many parts of the country, they have been deployed to police elections.

“They watched as people stuffed ballot boxes and common Nigerians asked them to intervene, asked them to stop the chaos and violence. All these caused the nerves to snap in the minds of the younger officers and was directly responsible for the first Nigerian military coup.”

In summary, the 2023 election has been described as one like no other in the history of Nigeria. We must therefore do everything we can to ensure the election is free and fair, in order to avoid travelling the same road we passed between 1966 and 1969.

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