The influence of former military officers in the political process appears to be waning as Nigeria heads into its sixth general election under the Fourth Republic.
Until their return to barracks in 1999, the military exercised political control of the country for 16 years, following a military coup that ended four years and three months of civilian rule under the Second Republic (1979-1983).
The Fourth Republic began with a former military head of state, Olusegun Obasanjo, elected as the first president of the dispensation. Eight years after Obasanjo left office after serving the maximum term of two terms, Nigerians in 2015 elected another former general and former head of state, Muhammadu Buhari, whose second term will end at the end of May next year. Buhari had also been a major challenge for Obasanjo since 2003.
In addition to the two generals who were elected president, many former soldiers were also elected governors or senators in many parts of the country.
However, for the 2023 elections, no former military man secured the presidential candidacy of either of the two main political parties: the Congress of All Progressives (APC) and the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP).
Furthermore, neither of the other two parties, LP and NNPP, that seem to be gaining momentum among Nigerians have a retired military officer as their presidential candidate.
Therefore, 2023 could be the first time in the Fourth Republic that a retired military officer will not be a major candidate for the position of President of Nigeria.
Only one former soldier, Hamza Al Mustapha, a retired army major, won a presidential candidacy, from the minority Action Alliance (AA). This is a far cry from 2003 when four generals retired, including Messrs. Obasanjo and Buhari; Ike Nwachukwu, a former foreign minister in a military government; and Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, a colonel who led the attempted secession of southeastern Nigeria between 1967 and 1970; They all ran for president.
Hamza Al Mustafa [Photo Credit: Newspeakonline]
military in democracy
“The transition to democratic governance in 1999 is more in theory than in Kefas Agbupractice,” Lancelot Onwubiko, a political data analyst, said in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES. “The military through retired generals have remained in power either in person or by proxy.”
Obasanjo defeated Olu Falae, a former finance minister, by almost seven million votes in the 1999 elections to become the first president of the Fourth Republic.
President Goodluck Jonathan, who in 2015 became the only incumbent in Nigeria to lose re-election, rose to the presidency when President Umaru Yar’Adua, the younger brother of a general and deputy head of state, died of illness in 2010. .
Yar’Adua won 24.6 million votes in the 2007 election to beat Buhari with 6.6 million, mainly due to the huge support he enjoyed from Obasanjo and other top military officials, although the election was also massively rigged, according to the local and international media. observers
In the PDP, a group of former generals, including Mr. Obasanjo, Ibrahim Babangida, Theophilus Danjuma and Aliyu Mohammed, are still believed to play a pivotal role in the nomination of the party’s presidential candidate.
His last-minute undercover endorsement of Atiku Abubakar, Obasanjo’s former vice president, is believed to have helped Abubakar pick the party’s ticket for the second consecutive election.
In addition to the colossal role played by former officers in presidential contests, some of them have also contested and held senatorial, gubernatorial, and other high-ranking positions in the Fourth Republic.
A retired Naval Rear Admiral, Mohammed Lawal, who had been the military governor of Ogun State between December 1987 and August 1990, was elected Governor of Kwara State in 1999, while Ọlagunsoye Oyinlọla, a retired Brigadier General, was elected Governor of the osu state. in 2003. He was returned as the winner of the 2007 elections, but the courts invalidated his return and removed him from office in 2006.
A retired Nigerian Air Force Air Commodore, Jonah Jang, was elected Governor of Plateau State twice in 2007 and 2011, while Murtala Nyako, Admiral and former Chief of Air Staff, was elected Governor of Adamawa State in 2007 and 2011.
Another one-star general, Adetunji Olurin, who served as military governor of Oyo state and interim governor of Ekiti state following Ayodele Fayose’s ouster in 2006, ran but lost the gubernatorial election in Ogun state in 2015 .
Meanwhile, former officials such as David Mark and Tunde Ogbeha, among a few others, were elected senators, and Mr. Mark served eight years as President of the Senate.
The implication of military influence
The role of the military in politics in Nigeria has consequences beyond the positions held by officers and is affecting both the way the law is applied and the way Nigerians view their own democracy.
Obasanjo routinely instigated impeachment trials of state governors and supported an attempt to amend the constitution to remove the term ban on president and governors in order to lengthen their terms.
For his part, current President Buhari, whose deputy is a law professor, has been accused of showing little respect for the rule of law. Under his supervision, the secret police arrested judges in a midnight raid and detained journalists. In January 2019, the president suspended the chief justice of the Supreme Court, an unconstitutional move.
“With so many military men with more money than ideas, it was certain that they would remain a dominant force in Nigerian politics,” Nosa Igiebor, editor-in-chief of Tell, told The Guardian UK in a 2003 publication. “Since they have more experience in ruling the country than civilians, their influence will be felt for a long, long time.
“If they really want to have more of a voice in the democratic era, it is the responsibility of civilian politicians to develop a political culture free of the military that endures over time.”
surveys 2023
Although military influence appears to be waning, especially in the two dominant parties, former military officers who have won a few party primaries mean they will still be on the ballot.
PREMIUM TIMES profiles below of some former military personnel running for president and governor in the 2023 election.
Hamza Al Mustafa
1. Hamza Al Mustapha, retired commander
Mr. Al Mustapha, a retired senior and former Chief Security Officer (CSO) of the late Head of State, Sani Abacha, secured the Action Alliance (AA) presidential candidacy for the 2023 general election.
Al Mustapha won 506 votes in the primary elections to beat his only opponent, Samson Odupitan, who got 216 votes. Recently, the former intelligence officer shocked Nigerians when he said that, if elected president, he would move to Sambisa Forest as part of a move to stamp out terrorism in the country within six months.
From August 1985 to August 1990, Mr. Al-Mustapha was aide-de-camp (ADC) to the Army Chief of Staff, Mr. Abacha. He was trained as a military intelligence operative and held various command positions in the Ministry of the Interior, Security Group of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (SG-DMI), Division 82 and Army Headquarters; Ministry of Defense and the Presidency.
A former Air Chief of Staff, Sadique Abubakar, was elected on Thursday as a gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Bauchi state.
2. Sadique Abubakar, former head of the Air Force
A former Chief of the Air Staff and retired Air Marshal, Sadique Abubakar, emerged as the APC’s gubernatorial candidate for the 2023 general election in Bauchi state.
Abubakar, who was Nigeria’s ambassador to the Republic of Benin, won 370 votes to defeat six other candidates in the primary elections.
Mr. Abubakar served as Nigerian Air Chief of Staff from July 13, 2015 to January 26, 2021.
His previous appointments include Head of Standards and Assessment, NAF Headquarters, Head of Defense Communications and Commander Air Officers, NAF Training Command. He served as Chief of Administration, NAF Headquarters prior to his appointment as Chief of the Air Staff.
Major General. Aminu Baande
3. Aminu Bande, retired Major General
A retired Major General, Aminu Bande, is the DPP’s gubernatorial candidate in Kebbi state.
Mr. Bande, until his retirement in 2021, was the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 8th Division, Sokoto.
4. Samuel Abashe, Retired Major
Samuel Abashe from Gyang Bere, Jos in Plateau State, is a former Liberian war commander and retired commander.
He was adopted as a gubernatorial candidate of the Grand Alliance of All Progressives (APGA) in Plateau state.
Abashe has based his campaign on the promise to combat insecurity in the state.
Kefas Agbu
5. Kefas Agbu, retired colonel
Kefas Agbu, a retired army colonel and former PDP state chairman in Taraba, is the party’s standard-bearer for next year’s gubernatorial elections.
Kefas, also a former chairman of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), resigned as state chairman to compete for the ticket. Mr. Kefas had competed for the same ticket in 2015.