Nigeria has seen five military coups since 1960. Nigeria was ruled by a military administration from 1966 to 1999, with a brief restoration to democracy in 1979 to 1983. The last coup was in 1993, and the Fourth Nigerian Republic, which restored multiparty democracy in 1999, has not attempted another.
According to Nigerian historian Max Siollun, military coups and tyranny become a persistent aspect of Nigerian politics. The wealth of natural resources has also been blamed for Nigeria’s military coups. Colonialism created an artificial state with multiple ethnic groupings, which led to regional conflicts and repeated coups. These diverse ethnic groupings were represented by regional parties, therefore “none of the parties could govern Nigeria on its own.” There was no centralised opposition to military control, thus a coup was just another faction.
Military rule ruined the economy. They abandoned their traditional agricultural economy and were increasingly dependent on oil exports, which led to an unstable economy. The Babangida era was marked by “gross inefficiency, waste, mismanagement, privatisation of public office and resources, and neglect of non-oil sectors.” Due to 1980s military economic strategy, 45% of foreign-exchange revenues went to debt service and growth was low. Poverty, crime, child abuse, sickness, institutional deterioration, and urban dispersion rose. These policies’ volatility and dissatisfaction contributed to a pattern of coups.
List of coups & coup attempts in Nigeria
January 1966 coup
Young military officers overthrew Nigeria’s government on 15 January 1966, ending the First Nigerian Republic. Officers who staged the coup were mostly Igbo Christian southerners led by Kaduna Nzeogwu. They assassinated Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa, Northern Region Premier Ahmadu Bello, Western Region Premier Ladoke Akintola, Finance Minister Festus Okotie-Eboh, and the four highest-ranking northern military officers. Coup leaders claimed to end corruption, end violence, and hold fresh elections. Major General Johnson Aguiyi Ironsi, himself an Igbo, imposed military discipline and became head of state. He suspended the constitution, disbanded all legislative parties, banned political parties, and installed an interim federal military government, without indicating when civilian authority would return.