Posted by Chester Morton / Tuesday 21 February 2017 / No comments
The reasons for military interventions in Nigeria
Introduction
Military intervention refers to the situation where the
military moves out of their barracks and take over political power from the
civilian governments of the day. Normally, this is done through a coup d’tat.
In Nigeria, the military first came into power in 1966, overthrowing the first
democratically elected government after independent.
Several reasons account
for the military venturing into politics.
REASONS FOR MILITARY
INTERVENTION
Presence of regionalised parties
One of the reasons the military advanced for their
intervention in the politics of Nigeria in 1966 was that the various political parties
that were operating at the time were not national in nature. The entire support
base of the various political parties was regionalised. The National Council of
Nigeria and the Cameroun was supported mainly by people from the Eastern Region, the
Action Group drew its support from the Western Region and the Northern People’s
Congress drew its support mainly from the Northern Region. This, according to
the military did not engender national cohesion.
Mismanagement of the economy
Another accusation that was leveled against the civilian
government to warrant their overthrow was that they mismanaged the economy. The
economy was said to have been so mismanaged that if the military had not
stepped in, the economy would have slid into an abyss.
Unhealthy rivalry among the major tribes
The politicians of the day were accused by the military of
engaging in tribal politics. The political practice of the time was based on
ethnicity so that each of the major political parties was jostling for
supremacy. This, according to the military, badly damaged national unity.
Politicization of the army
Another cause of the military intervention in Nigeria was the
politicization of the army. The army was so politicized that one’s promotion
was no longer based on one’s experience, qualification and training but rather on one’s
political leanings which was in turn underpinned on one’s tribal origin.
Tribalism and nepotism
Another key contribution to the military overthrow of the
civilian government of the day was tribalism and nepotism. Recruitment,
appointment and promotion within the Nigerian Civil Service was based on “whom
you know”. One was not too sure of appointment into the Civil Service if one
did not know any “Oga” within the service or did not belong to a certain tribe.
This, the military said was bad.
Foreign complicity
One cannot rule out foreign complicity in the Nigerian coup d’tat
of 1966 and subsequent ones. Some foreign powers are suspected of being
involved in regime change so that they can help put into power governments that are
amenable to their whims and caprices.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
1. a. What do you understand by military intervention?
b. Advance five reasons
for the intervention of the military in Nigerian politics.
