Youth Earnestly Ask for Abacha


Youth Earnestly Ask for Abacha was a campaign formed in 1997 to urge General Sani Abacha to self succeed and run for Nigeria's presidency. The YEAA campaign, led by Daniel Kanu, placed billboards around the country, publicized advertisements in the media and sponsored editorials to encourage support for Abacha.

Two Million Man March

The support of the former military leader culminated in 1998 with what is now famously remembered as the two-million-man march, coordinated by YEAA and NACYAN. Africa Research Bulletin reported that YEAA had distributed free exercise books to schools, that it had plans to distribute subsidized imported "Abacha Rice" and that it had bought two new buses, equipped with speakers and modern communications equipment. According to an interview with Daniel Kanu the costs of the rally, estimated at 400-500 million Naira, were paid for by "patriotic individuals" As alleged in the book Regime Change and Succession Politics in Africa: Five Decades of Misrule, the march was likely government-backed and nearly 2.5 billion Naira was spent on the march.