Nigeria at 60 – Military and Democratic Rules Since Independence

Types of Governments in Nigeria since 1960

• By Independence Day (October 1, 2020), Nigeria would have had approximately 30 years, 11 months of democratic rule, 28 years, 11 months of military rule and 3 months of civilian interim rule.

The Military Rulers

• March, April, May, September and October are considered ‘pure’ months – the months in which there were no military overthrows.
• Out of the 8 Military rulers, 2 were assassinated in office:
  • Late Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi on July 29th, 1966
  • Late Murtala Muhammed on February 13, 1976

The Interim Government

• Following much pressure on the military (which annulled a Presidential election in 1993 (June 12), an interim government was put in place by General Ibrahim Babangida.
• He (Babangida) promised to step down on August 26, 1993. The Interim Government of Ernest Shonekan assumed office on August 27, 1993.

The Democratic Government

• Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was assassinated in office in Nigeria’s first military coup that took place in 1966.
• October 1 used to be the handover date before the military coups. In 1999, this changed to May 29.
• In 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari declared that

‘‘June 12, 1993, was far more symbolic of democracy in the Nigerian context than May 29 or even October 1″.