However, the excitement of the people remained pitiable as they soon found out that the
change perceivable was only in terms of who were at the helm of affairs. What started in
Nigeria in January 15, 1966 as a coup the drowning vortex of which Okigbo had
presciently designated “as path of thunder” did not only culminate in a civil war, it
produced for so many years afterwards a militarized culture by which state power was
defined. In 1979, a lull came after the various coups and counter coups when the second
republic was inaugurated. But hope dimmed again for the nation when another coup
toppled the Shehu Shagari-led regime in 1983. Between that year and 1999 a series of
other coups successful and aborted took place. But perhaps the peak of military
aberration was the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election. This was done in
order to perpetuate military rule. The crisis in which the nation was engulfed would later
claim the life of the acclaimed winner, Moshood Abiola. This was shortly after the death
of the dictator, General Sani Abacha in 1998. In retrospect, the moment is variously
described as the saddest and most horrible era in the existence and history of the nation.
In the words of Daniel Bach (2006: 63), at that time, contemplating Nigeria was like
“inching towards a country without a state”. This was owing to the staging of an
absurdity defined by praetorianism, violence and state betrayal. Ever since the return to a
democratic dispensation in 1999, retired military officers have had better placements at
various levels of government. What is worse, there still remains the preservation of the
“cult” of Generals by which it is difficult to make them account for how the country was
run in the past.^16 Yet from all indications, for many years to come, the military may still
dominate the Nigerian democratic scene with unapologetic ruthlessness and class
aggrandizement.
16
In a recent interview, General Ibrahim Babangida, a former Nigerian head of state openly admitted that
the military class is run as a “cult”; it is especially so within the rank of Generals, which was why he
demanded some measure of solidarity from Obasanjo, himself a former General. The end point of this
solidarity is that when it comes to probing the past of the nation’s Heads of State, especially by a former
military General, other Generals should be insulated from being brought to book. See “Ibb to obj: You
can’t provoke me”. Source: http://odili.net/news/source/2006/sep/30/814.html