MILTARY AND ITS INVOLVEMENT IN PRACTICE OF DEMOCRACY

Abstract

This paper looked at the structure of the military and how it affected Nigeria's democratic transition. The study explained why several Nigerian republics fell apart and what function the military served throughout these times. Data that were subjected to comprehensive and rational examination proved to the military's involvement as a distracter in the democratisation of Nigeria. By organising and carrying out faulty elections for transition, the military institution represented itself and behaved on most instances as a false defender of democratic ideals. Yet, new information indicates that the military's implementation of these democratic concepts and procedures was frequently flawed and insufficient to support sustained democratic rule. Maleocracy has been typified by most general elections held by the military to transfer control when democratic authority is acquired by former military leaders through stage-managed mechanisms. Although playing a crucial role in maintaining democracy in the nation, the military institution has therefore served as a political organisation where various electoral packaging techniques were learned, and electioneering overtures gained. So, this essay concludes that, since Nigeria's independence, the military has served more as a dispersive force than a consolidating one in the country's democratic transitions and free and fair elections.