The Campaign for Democracy (CD) is a Nigerian civil society group that advocates for greater

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. The group was first organized in the early 1990s to demand an end to the country's military dictatorship. The coalition organized demonstrations, strikes, and other

civil resistance Civil resistance is political action that relies on the use of nonviolent resistance by ordinary people to challenge a particular power, force, policy or regime. Civil resistance operates through appeals to the adversary, pressure and coercion: i ...

actions against the regime of Nigerian president

Ibrahim Babangida Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (born 17 August, 1941) is a retired Nigerian Army general and politician. He served as military president of Nigeria from 1985 until his resignation in 1993. He rose through the ranks to serve from 1984 to 1985 as Ch ...

from 1991–1993, particularly against the nullification of the

1993 Nigerian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Nigeria on 12 June 1993, the first since the 1983 military coup ended the country's Second Republic. The elections were the outcome of a transitional process to civilian rule spearheaded by the military ruler, ...

. At its peak, the coalition had more than 40 affiliated groups.

Context

The Nigerian Second Republic was overthrown in a

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such ...

led by General

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician and current president of Nigeria since 2015. Buhari is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the country's military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 Au ...

, which established a

military dictatorship A military dictatorship is a dictatorship in which the military exerts complete or substantial control over political authority, and the dictator is often a high-ranked military officer. The reverse situation is to have civilian control of the m ...

under the control of the Supreme Military Council. Buhari was subsequently overthrown by

. Babangida followed several policies to loosen political control, including easing restrictions on freedom of expression. He also promised to return the country to civilian rule by 1990. However, Babangida repeatedly delayed liberalization measures, and civil society leaders did not have faith that he would genuinely give up power. One attempt to return the country to democracy through a national conference was repressed by the government in September 1990, leading several civil society leaders to the conclusion that forming an organized pressure group to push for

democratization Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a ful ...

was crucial.

Founding

The Campaign for Democracy was founded in November 1991 at a conference in Jos held by the National Consultative Forum, and six other human rights groups, women's groups, and labor organizations. Their primary goal at the founding was to advocate for a return to civilian rule through the holding of a sovereign national conference. The group's first chairman was doctor and activist

Beko Ransome-Kuti Dr. Bekolari Ransome-Kuti (2 August 1940 – 10 February 2006) was a Nigerian physician known for his work as a human rights activist. Early life Ransome-Kuti was born in Abeokuta, Nigeria. His mother Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti opposed indiscrimin ...

, who was frequently arrested for his work with the group.

1993 presidential election

As part of Babangida's controlled return to democracy, two legal political parties were allowed to compete in a

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

in June 1993. Businessman

Moshood Abiola Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola , also known as M. K. O. Abiola (24 August 1937 – 7 July 1998) was a Nigerian businessman, publisher, and politician. He was the Aare Ona Kankafo XIV of Yorubaland and an aristocrat of the Egba clan. M.K.O ...

won the election, but Babangida annulled the results. Under pressure from the Campaign for Democracy and an alliance of other civil society groups, Babangida was forced to resign and ceded power to a transitional government led by

Ernest Shonekan Chief Ernest Adegunle Oladeinde Shonekan (9 May 1936 – 11 January 2022) was a Nigerian lawyer and statesman who served as the interim Head of State of Nigeria from 26 August 1993 to 17 November 1993. He was titled Abese of Egbaland from ...

. Shonekan was tasked with holding a new presidential election in 1994, but was prevented by the November 1993 coup led by

Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military officer and politician who ruled as the military head of state of Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998. He seized power on 17 November 1993 in the last successful c ...

Fragmentation and later years

The Campaign for Democracy broke into two groups in late 1994, with a significant portion of the group's executive council accusing Chairman Ransome-Kuti of colluding with the Abacha regime. The faction that supported Chairman Ransome-Kuti remained as the Campaign for Democracy, while the breakaway faction formed the Democratic Alternative, a competing coalition. The Campaign for Democracy remained as a pressure group for greater democracy in Nigeria throughout the Abacha regime and after the transition to civilian rule. After the

2019 Nigerian general election General elections were held in Nigeria on 23 February 2019 to elect the President, Vice President, House of Representatives and the Senate. The elections had initially been scheduled for 16 February, but the Electoral Commission postponed the ...

the CD accused the government of President

of stealing the election and demanded his resignation.

References

{{reflist 1991 establishments in Nigeria Political organizations established in 1991