Nigeria's transition from military to civilian rule: An overview

This paper examines the transition programs to civilian governance offered by various military leaders in Nigeria since 1974. A scrutiny of these programs' implementation reveals a peculiar pattern. Typically, the besieged junta leader proposes a military withdrawal timetable and soon thereafter connives with civilian and military collaborators to abort the very program he initiated. The set up of agencies, commissions, and electoral bodies are usually a subterfuge aimed at retaining power or at least preventing the establishment of a genuine democracy. The attainment of a bona fide democracy has remained elusive because of the culture of corruption various military regimes helped to institute amidst unattended mass poverty. The essentially antidemocratic nature of the military institution has made it ill-prepared to usher in democracy in Nigeria.