Jun 12, 2026 · 46 min · 11 segments
June 12th, 1993 holds weight in Nigeria's recent political history. Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, won what was recorded as the fairest presidential election in Nigeria’s history. 30 years later…
[upbeat music] [door opening] [knocking] [door breaking] [sirens] [shouting]
On the 2nd of May, 1993, police intercepted and seized 70,000 copies of Tell magazine, a political news journal that started in Nigeria just two years prior.
It happened as they were publishing their latest issue, with a headline that read, "Transition: 21 traps against handover." [typewriter clacking] Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, Nigeria's military head of state at the time, had promised citizens a smooth transition to a civilian government by 1990.
But instead, he spent the time passing decrees that wiped out entire political parties, delaying the transition for another three years.
As president, it's not, it is not my business what religious color anybody wears.
Yeah.
In ITT, in Concord, in RCN, in Summit Oil, in the bakeries, in the bookshop, in the presses, and so we, we employ people purely on merit.
Round pegs in round holes, period.
[clapping]
MKO Abiola was a businessman turned media mogul that got his big break working at American firms with subsidiaries in Nigeria.
He was an accountant at Pfizer, the pharmaceutical company responsible for products like Robitussin cough syrup and Viagra.
His philanthropy and his numerous businesses made him one of the country's most influential people, so influential that his journey to becoming Nigeria's president continues to significantly shape the country's politics decades after that journey was made.
[door closing] As the elections grew closer, Tell magazine started printing underground to avoid censorship by the military.
They published another issue, this time at night, and the headline read, "The people's verdict: Go IBB, go." [typewriter clacking] Not long after, the military raided the magazine headquarters and arrested the editors, who were detained for 12 days.
[door breaking] The raid and continued censorship of political magazines like Tell and The News would not be IBB's first or last attempt at disrupting the country's first democratic elections in 10 years.
It's now been 30 years since that turn, and the question today is, can we ever turn back? [upbeat music] [burping] [upbeat music] You're listening to Uncultured, a podcast where we give you short answers to culture's biggest questions so you don't have to worry about looking uncultured.
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