The Military and Nation-Building in Nigeria: The General Ibrahim Babangida Regime, 1985-1993

Abstract

On August 27, 1985, Major-General Ibrahim Babangida carried-out a coup d’etat against the then military ruler of Nigeria, General Muhammadu Buhari. The main reason for the putsch was the believe that the Buhari regime had no plan to return Nigeria to civilian rule. Apart from this, the country was beset with various nation-building challenges that the junta had no clear-cut answers to. Such challenges include that of corruption, ethnicity, governance and religion. Babangida carried-out his coup ostensibly to return the country to civilian rule, tackle these nation-building challenges and turn Nigeria into a cohesive, functional and viable polity. To achieve these important aims and objectives, Babangida established a transition programme to return Nigeria to civilian rule and used institutional, praetorian and constitutional mechanisms to tackle the country’s nationhood challenges. This work is an analysis of the programmes, measures and initiatives that the Babangida regime used to tackle Nigeria’s nation-building challenges and prepare the country for eventual return to civilian rule.

5 - Nigeria’s Foreign and Defence Policies During Babangida's Regime: An Assessment

“…Many scholars and researchers, including Iyayi (1989), Ake (1995), Falode (2019), Agbese (2012), McDikkoh (2010), Mimiko (1995a), Bamikole (1995), Ihonvbere (1995), Fawole (1995), G. , Sa'id (1995), Kolawole (1995), K. , Adekanye (1993 and2005), Okafor (2006), Bamidele (2012) and many others, have condemned the Babangida government as a failure in terms of most of its policies. But this article shows that despite this being so, the administration's foreign and defence policies were meaningfully successful.…”