Attempted Coup: "Why Military Might Have Tried to Take Over", Analyst
The report of the recent alleged move by some military officers to take over power has been described as disturbing. Omotayo Yusuf, a political commentator, explained that the development showed that Nigeria's democracy was still in its infancy.
Yusuf, while speaking with Legit.ng, explained that Nigeria has to nurture its democracy to the level that the military would not be an option even when the government is unpopular.
Source: Twitter
He said:
"The alleged attempted coup by some military officers should not be surprising. This is because this is not the first time in Nigeria since independence in 1960. Nigeria has had several successful ones, which have either been bloody or bloodless. However, since we've returned to democracy in 1999, Nigeria has had an uninterrupted democratic process of more than 20 years, which is impressive.
"The latest incident, where a number of military officers were arrested or reportedly arrested, although the motive for the arrest was denied by the government, all sides point to its authenticity. The possibility that the news is true is based on the action that followed, which was the retirement of service chiefs, or removal of service chiefs, shuffling of the military architecture, which sort of signals the plan.
"The move by the Federal Government, headed by the Commander-in-Chief, President Bola Tinubu, to take control of and forestall any such plans. But it just shows that number one, our democracy is still in its infancy, where we still have to talk about or debate the possibility of the military taking over. Despite 25 years of uninterrupted or more democracy, at the back of our mind, there's still the fear that the military can one day take over. Which sort of shows that our democracy is still infancy, and we still have a long way to go."
Coups in some West African countries appeared attractive
Yusuf further noted that the recent military coups in some neighbouring countries in West Africa appeared to be attractive, but that does not mean Nigeria deserve the same fate. He said:
"Secondly, the fact that perhaps, due to what happened in some West African countries, lately, in the past two years, about three countries have experienced coups, if I'm not mistaken. So that's what has made it more attractive, especially when you consider the reactions of citizens to these coups. We saw that happen in Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali.
"Where military coups have been embraced, and so it might be tempting for our military architecture, when you put aside professionalism and submission to the constitution, to consider a military coup as a way to take over power with the mindset that it will be a popular one. Will it be so? Well, we wouldn't know, but it shows that we still have a long way to go in imposing our democratic system to the point where even an unpopular government will not attract the interest of the military, but rather, people would turn to the polls to make their decisions."
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Source: Legit.ng
