ABSTRACT
The military in
African politics and government were seen as a corrective regime against the
derail of the then nationalist; to which Nigerian military was never an
exception in overthrowing the then incompetent civil class. With the military
fully in control of the State power and expected to be corrective, the coupists
strategized to enjoy the spoil of the state as they now valued politics more
than the military career, thereby relegating the civil class to the background
while abandoning their constitutional role, which need further investigation as
their involvement in politics had entailed several implications on the polity.
The study adopt
secondary sources of data collection, which includes the use of material from
the archival library method, CD -ROM, internet
browsing, and materials from textbooks, journals and articles. Materials from
magazines, newspapers and unpublished works were also consulted. The utilized
historical and documentary approaches. Although analytical concepts was
employed toward arriving at the expected goals of the study.
The study noted
that the essence of military involvement in Nigerian politics was dashed when
in 1966 the reprisal coup was natured with ethnic bigotry. The work revealed
that the crops officers then were illiterates and could not move the nation
forward instead what was witness was coups and power mongers. The study found
out that most of the military leaders from the north were wealth crazy and
thus, enthroned corruption, which is today a household name in Nigeria politics
and government.
The military are
not good administrators even when it is clear that they were not trained in
that aspect of leadership, hence, for the society to have spent so much and
endured these many years such ills-governance, means also many years of
setbacks and failures as witnessed today in the Nigeria politics and
government.
KEY
WORDS: Military, Politics, Coup d’état, Primitive Accumulation, Ethnicity, and
Spoils of State
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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CHAPTERONE: INTRODUCTION
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1.0
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Background of
the Study
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1.2
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Statements of
the Problems
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1.3
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The Objectives
of the Study
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1.4
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Significance
of the Study
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1.5
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Research
Methodology
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1.6
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Scope of the
study
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1.7
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Limitation of
the Study
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1.8
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Operational
Definition of Terms
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Reference
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CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Global Perspective
2.2 African Discourse
2.3 Nigeria Perspective
Reference
CHAPTER THREE: HISTORICAL
OVERVIEW
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Characteristics of Military
Involvement in Nigeria Politics
3.2 Reasons for Military Intervention
in Nigeria Politics
3.3 The Evaluation of Military
Government in Nigeria
Reference
CHAPTER FOUR: GENERAL ANALYSIS
4.1 The Arising Problem and
Implication
4.2 Achievement of the Military
Reference
CHAPTER FIVE:
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary
5.2 Conclusion
5.3 Recommendations
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY
Military involvement in politics, particularly in
the Nigerian context could be argued to what military scientist had come to
term with as either due to rebellion, war, insurgence and or outright coup d’état
(Okechukwu, 2009:1). However, in a layman view point, military coup or military
involvement in politics is when a group of soldiers, either of the officers
cadre or other ranks (non-commissioned officers) organized themselves with the
perceived agenda to enthrone them in state governance (Okechukwu, 2009).
According to LuttwaIk (1980), it is the infiltration
of a small but critical segment of the state apparatus which is then used to
displace the government from its control of the remainder. While to Wikipedia
(1998) notes that it usually involves the control of some active portion of the
military while neutralizing the remainder of the country's armed services. This
means that coup is never a universal agreement of the whole armed forces but an
action carried out by few or disgruntled one while seeking for power.
In a more elaborate context, Mala parte (1931)
argued that it is a situation that the active ones or group capture or expels a
leader, seizes physical control of important government offices, communicate
instruments, the physical infrastructure, power plants, and viable institutions
amongst others while trying to establish their agenda or consolidate power and
positions.
Going by this analogue, the history of military
involvement in politics in Africa, especially, dates back to 1952 when the Egyptian
soldiers overthrow the government. The coup of Gen. Gamal Abdul Nasser in Egypt
also triggered-off all other coup in Africa, this was followed by the coup in
Sudan under Gen Ibrahim Abboud. With the record of coups spreading in Africa,
coupled with what Okoye (1992) noted as power psychology influence amongst the
soldiers in training from their different military academies, it is obvious
that the Southern Sahel in the sub-Saharan Africa, especially the students of
the British Royal Academy will not be left behind as the first military coup in
Nigeria, led by a major was bloody.
The 1966 January 15th coup d'etat carried
out by the five (5) major was however the turning point in Nigeria political
history. The coup led by major Kaduna Nzeogwu did not only expose many rots in
governance, but, also enthrone a deep seated ethnicity in government, which
seldom stilted into civil war and human annihilations in the anal of any West
African state political history. The coupist saw those in government, especially
the politicians as:
Our enemies are political profiteers, the
swindlers, the men in high and low place that seek bribe and demand ten
percent, those that seek to keep the country divided permanently so that they
can remain in office as ministers are VIPs at least. The tribalists, the
nepotisms, those that have corrupted our society and put the Nigerian political
calendar back by their work and deed (Okechukwu, 2009:21).
This means that there are a great rot in governance
coupled to the Western House of Assembly political quagmire, the census chimera
and the political instability in the country. The military intention though
looked like a corrective regime but since there are no human rights in the army
and no freedom in the compound of the barrel, the new situation was seen as
ethnical while some sees it as genuinely hatched and to some it was political.
The inability of the general society to separate this young officer's overture
however degenerated into another national catastrophe. But by and large, it was
the main opener of the Nigerian military into political terrain either to seek
power or to correct certain ills of the society.
Premised on this, this work will further inquire why
military involvement in politics was possible. Why political intrigues and
scheming was used to shortchange the role of the military? And how the military
antecedence had affected development and social civility in the country?
1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
The major things that this inquiry tends to portray
is that military involvement in Nigeria politics initially was seen as a
corrective regime taken cognizance that the military background were never
meant to govern, but no sooner than later the act of corrective regime was seen
as a stake where all who belong to the military elites must be rich or enriched
and seem to believe that they are taken a cue in the administration and
possible looting of the national treasury. Thus, the idea of corrective was
dash to the wind and replace with the idea of wait for your turn to explore the
political terrain syndrome that looks promising and enticizing with the goodies
of the spoil of the state linked to oil money. In. the process and for those
who are opportune to be there, the initial military accusation of the civil
politician turned back to be their way of living, interacting and wealth
accumulations. Hence, for every military man to shake off poverty or hunger
the political terrain becomes the best bet, thereby leading to many military
men wanting to involves self in politics. The accuser turned accused become the
big problem and at the same time inviting many who cannot conjecture between
the political class and the military elite of who are more corrupt, in order to
accept the observation of William (2007) who called the system a primitive
accumulation of wealth racket by the military brass who ought to toe the line
of corrective measure of sanitizing the decayed society instead of the
otherwise.
In the process the following questions are raised:
i.
What actually are the main reasons adduce by the military
class in adventuring into politics?
ii Can the military be separated for corrupt
tendencies which seem to be one of the reasons for the former involvement in
politics?
iii Do the military actually have something to
offer in administering the state?
iv. Why is military involvement in politics a
celebrated concept?
v. Can the military in anyway promote social
civility?
vi. Is military
regime accountable to the society whose tax payers' money is spent unchecked?
1.3 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
The followings are the research objectives:
1.
To investigate the major reason that informed military
involvement in politics.
2.
To identify the basis of argument with evidences that the
military are corrupt which advanced the reasons to be involved in politics.
3.
To examine where possible that the military can encourage
development while in power.
4.
To examine the reason why some individual and people
celebrate military rule.
5.
To determine whether there is human rights promotion and
social civility by military in assuming power.
6.
To explicate why military regime is not accountable to
the mass public.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE STUDY
This study is significance in several ways.
Firstly, military incursion was initially meant to
act as a corrective regime that would have help to eradicate corruption and
inefficiency in governance, but unfortunately otherwise later became the case.
Secondly, the military in their drive to assume power,
acquire wealth and enthroned the cultured of impurity in the system, which
ought not to be a corrective regime.
Thirdly, the military was never meant to involve
self in politics, thence the otherwise of the destruction on national psyche
and social stability. Although, the point of argument is that the civil class
actually introduce the military into the sharp practices.
Fourthly, the study averred that greed and fear of
the unknown might have combined to influence the military into power acquisition
and then followed the concept of ineptitude in utilizing power to achieve a
goals.
Fifthly, the study exposes the military mediocrity
and advance reasons of what might informed their participation in politics as
located in poverty.
Sixthly, the work tends to close the gap in
knowledge, especially on those that celebrate military rule by informed them
that the regime is absurdity and aberration no matter the initiatives employed
in the process. This is because the worst civilian administration is better than
the best military regime.
Seventhly, the work adds to the numerous literatures
by extending the frontier of knowledge. It adds value to the numerous
literatures on military rule while exposing the level of rot in the service.
Finally, the study is of the view that military rule
need further research with the ills properly exposed to avoid future adventures
or would be coupist to know that there is general society disenchantment on
military incursion.
1.5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The study will adopt secondary sources of data
collection considering the fact that the research is connected to historical
analysis of military involvement in Nigeria politics and government.
In view of this, a great deal of secondary materials
like archival library method, CD Rom, journals and articles, magazines and
newspapers were sources and serves as the main pool of data collection. The
study also employed the use of internet and World Wide Web's (www) browsing to
augment the sourced materials.
In the process of inquiry, the work utilizes
analytical approach and documentary in analyzing the course discourse. While
historical approach is also adopted in the analysis, the study uses descriptive
analysis in arriving at its content desire.
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study, military involvement in Nigeria politics
and the aspect of development covers the period 1966 to 1999. It studied
militarization of the larger society owing to the long years of military rule
and the decadence in the administration of the state, which accounts for
several implications.
1.7 LIMITATION OF STUDY
The study in the course of inquiry is limited in
several ways which are inevitable. These include the problem of getting the
required and relevant text from the library; logistic problem of transporting
one from place to place. The researcher not allowed or attended to by library
attendants also form a limitation to the study. Financial constraints are one
of the factors forming a limitation to the study.
However, despite all the noted limitation the work
was able to meet the required goal of the study.
1.8 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS
The following are the research possible definition
of terms:
MILITARY: These are men
designated in protecting the territory of a country. The military defend the
country sovereignty.
COUP D'ETAT: This is the act
of seizing power by a group from the incumbent forceful with the intention of
perpetuating their own agenda.
INVOLVEMENT: This is the act
of one participating in carrying out certain function or duty as may be
directed or interested to the part of the act.
REBELLION: It is the act
of intent of going against a constituted authority. This might be against a
certain policy of the government or way of doing things.
ARMED FORCES: This is the
combination of all are meant to protect and maintain security in the country.
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