June 12 Saga and the Re-Visitation of Igbo-Yoruba Cold War in Nigeria

In Nigeria's political diary, the June 12 is synonymous with the presidential election of 1993 which was to usher in the much anticipated third republic after ten years of military reign having 'sacked' the democratic government of ShehuShagari on 31 December, 1983. However, underlining the electoral symbol of the date was politics of ethnic consolidation as exemplified by the Northern military oligarchy in the annulment of the June 12 1993 election and ethnic rivalry between the Southwest Yoruba and the Southeast Igbo. This, therefore, brings to focus the thrust of the paper, 'Ndigbo and the June 12, 1993 election Saga'. The paper seeks to critically examine the role played by Igbo elites in the June 12 question. It further argues that the June 12 crisis culminated in deepening the cold war that long existed between the Igbo and Yoruba ethnic groups in Nigeria. The study adopts the archival search method in data gathering. This includes critical review of journal articles, official documents and reports, newspapers and magazines, electronically downloaded materials and monographs.