February 21, (THEWILL) – Former military president, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, has described military intervention in Nigerian politics as an aberration, declaring that “the days of military rule in Nigeria are over.”
Popularly known as IBB, Babangida made this statement in his autobiography titled: “A Journey in Service”, which was launched on Thursday in Abuja, as reported by THEWILL.
Babangida, who served as a military president after overthrowing the junta of General Muhammadu Buhari on August 17, 1985, noted that Nigeria has witnessed five military coups since 1960, with the last one occurring in 1993.
“First, let me restate my position on the matter. Military coups d’état, that is, the overthrow of an incumbent government, whether as redemptive or corrective measures, are an aberration and should never be encouraged. Indeed, coups in the context of a democracy such as ours are not just unacceptable; they are illegal.
“Appropriate sections of the Nigerian Constitution insist that ‘Nigeria shall not be governed, nor shall any persons or group of persons take control of the Government of Nigeria or any part thereof, except in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.’
“For the umpteenth time, let me repeat: the days of military rule in Nigeria are over. Again, before I am misunderstood, let me reiterate my position”, IBB declared in the opening paragraph of page 105 in Chapter 3 of his book.
He attributed several coups in Nigeria and across Africa to the failures of civilian governments.
“I do not suggest that military interventions, which can be undue interferences in the politics of a country, are replacements for incumbent governments. Nor do I imply that the military is the guarantor of good behaviour; far from it. All that I suggest is that coups don’t just happen. They are sometimes inspired by extraneous conditions that demand interventions. Generally, the abject failure of civilian governments is the cause of coups. Therefore, a fairer assessment of why the armed forces seized power should not be based on their success or failure to deliver once they took over, but on the various factors and events preceding the intervention.
“Military takeovers are not peculiar to Africa or isolated to Nigeria. The history of post-colonial Africa shows that where civilian leadership and the political class have failed to live up to their responsibilities and progressively build upon the legacy of the colonialists, the military has attempted to step in. In some cases, these interventions have been nothing short of revolutionary. For instance, on July 23, 1952, Lieutenant-Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser and 89 other Free Officers staged an almost bloodless coup d’état in Egypt, which ended the reign of King Farouk. That action, as popular and revolutionary as it turned out to be, was the first known coup d’état in post-colonial Africa. In sixty years, fueled by despotic, shortsighted, and uninspiring leadership, Africa has experienced at least 230 coup attempts since then. In 2022 alone, over 40 of Africa’s 54 nations were said to have witnessed one or more coup attempts.
“Neither do I suggest that the military is without blame for how we arrived at where we are today as a nation. But to claim that military intervention was irredeemably disastrous is grossly unfair.
“Those who are quick to accuse the Nigerian military of being no more than spoilt brats who merely fought to perpetuate themselves in power must never forget that, as trained military officers, we, too, invested our lifetimes, our youth, hopes, dreams and energy in the promise of a great country.”
