Military Era & Coups in Nigeria
Military regimes, coups, economic policies, and the transition to democratic governance in Nigeria from 1966 to 1999.
What Happened at Kalakuta Republic, The 1977 Military Raid That Changed Fela Kuti’s Life
In the early hours of 18 February 1977, soldiers descended on Kalakuta Republic, the communal compound built and led by Fela Anikulapo Kuti in...
Gun, Ballot and Constitution: How Military Coups Reshaped Nigerian Democracy
Nigeria’s democratic journey has been profoundly shaped by a series of military interventions that disrupted constitutional governance from the mid‑1960s until the late 1990s....
The 1984 Imprisonment of Fela Kuti
Nigeria’s 2015 presidential election delivered a moment many citizens once thought impossible. For the first time in the country’s history, an incumbent president conceded...
Nigeria’s Interrupted Transitions: The Story of Military Rule and Return to Civilian Government
Nigeria’s political history in the late twentieth century alternated between military rule and civilian governance. Some transitions were completed, others were interrupted, and some...
When Soldiers Built Civilian Rule: Nigeria’s Military-Engineered Governments
Nigeria’s journey to democracy has often been shaped by its military rulers. Civilian governments emerged not naturally, but through military-managed transitions. From the first...
Why Military Regimes Found It Hard to Relinquish Power Permanently
Military governments often entered power claiming to be temporary custodians of the state. Coups were announced as corrective actions, presented as necessary interventions to...
June 12, 1993: How Nigeria’s Most Credible Election Was Cancelled
On 12 June 1993, Nigerians voted in a presidential election widely recognised as the freest and fairest in the nation’s history to that point....
Fear as a Tool of Power: How Military Governments Controlled Nigeria
Nigeria’s first military coup in January 1966 led to a cycle of successive military regimes. The coups themselves created an environment of uncertainty and...
Standing Against the Guns: Nigeria’s Battle for Democracy
Nigeria’s history is marked by repeated military interventions that disrupted democratic governance. From 1966 to 1999, the country experienced a series of coups that...
Executions, Detention, and Exile: How Nigeria’s Military Used Fear to Rule
Nigeria’s military regimes, spanning from the first coup in 1966 through the late 1990s, maintained power through force and strict control rather than popular...