Back to the Barracks

In the Nigerian case, early beliefs in a caretaker administration and a speedy transition proved illusory. At the time of the military take-over of January 1966, a quick return to barracks was generally taken for granted. The successive blueprints for the return to civilian rule reveal a preoccupation with a fairly constant set of issues, very similar to those which had faced the Nigerians and the departing colonial power in the late 1950s. A return to a federal-type administrative structure had been decreed, but the reality of the next eight months was more of a free-for-all. The relatively open-ended negotiations continued for a little while longer but as Gowon and Ojukwu began to go their separate ways, the ultimate resort to force was not far off. The 1970 programme was the first to mention political parties. The requirement that they be ‘genuinely national’ was unobjectionable but vague, and very possibly impracticable

Political science · African history and culture studies · African studies and sociopolitical issues · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · History