Military Incursion in Nigerian Politics: Challenges and Prospects

Abstract

Ever since the attainment of self governance more than three decades ago, Nigeria?s journey toward a stable democracy has been continually interjected with a recurring spate of military coups d?état. The intervention of military in the political scene of Nigeria did not come as a total surprise to most political observers and thinkers. The study examines the Nigerian military incursion into politics and political development in Nigeria. Exploratory research design, documentary sources and qualitative descriptive methods of data gathering and analysis were adopted. Findings from this study revealed that military rule in Nigeria tended to be characterized by cynical disregard of democratic principles in both making and implementation of policies. The study also finds out that the military failed to demonstrate after about thirty years, that it has the panacea for Nigeria?s political problems. While it can neither be wished away nor dismissed as a complete fiasco, military intervention in Nigerian politics has so far demonstrated the existence of a wide gap between the visionary promises of coup makers and actual performance. The study recommends need to educate the military to recognizing their constitutional duties to the nation.