Demands for military coup would spell disaster for Nigeria, says ex-army official

Retired Major-General Collins Ihekire has vehemently denounced the notion of a military coup, cautioning that it would spell catastrophe for Nigeria.

In a press briefing in Abuja, Gen. Ihekire, formerly the Commander of the African Union Mission in Darfur, Sudan, lambasted the calls as reckless, misguided, and driven by ulterior motives, urging those advocating for it to cease.

He contended that military rule would inevitably result in authoritarianism, fragmentation, and a lack of accountability, drawing on Nigeria’s past experiences with military governance.

Gen. Ihekire emphasized that historical precedent has shown military rule to be a divisive force, fostering ethnic, religious, and geopolitical tensions among the country’s constituent units.

He said, “I vehemently condemn in the strongest terms, the irresponsible, ill-advised, ill-motivated calls by anti-democratic elements for military take-over of government.

“Nobody in his right senses would prescribe military rule because the military rules with dictatorship that cannot be accountable to the people.

“History has shown that military rule in Nigeria was divisive, thereby creating ethnic, religious and geopolitical acrimony between the federating units in the nation.

“Nigeria is facing challenges that can only be resolved by a democratically elected government with the political will to effect the needed socioeconomic and political restructuring.

“Did you rate the last administration of Buhari, which was in reality a quasi military regime? Have you asked what all the billions of dollars borrowed by the Muhammad Buhari government during his eight years in office were used for?

“If you asked me, I would subscribe to the position that, for Nigeria, the worst democratic government is better than the best military rule any day.

“How can you be shouting that your problem is a faulty Constitution foisted on you by the military and now that you have a democratically elected government… you start contemplating military takeover?

“Is that not a dangerous signal that something is wrong with those advocating for military take-over? Is that not a signal that you can not survive in a democratically sanitized environment?”