Although Nigeria has had many military coups since its independence in 1960, it is unlikely to experience such an unconstitutional change of government in the near future, foreign minister Geoffrey Onyeama said.
“… it would not be that easy to have a coup in today’s Nigeria,” he told PREMIUM TIMES in an exclusive interview.
According to Mr Onyeama, with over 24 years of changing governments democratically, and stronger democratic institutions, “we have evolved beyond that and the country is vast and a bit more complicated.”
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has had sustained civil rule since 1999, unlike some of its West African neighbours like Chad, Mali and Burkina Faso who have experienced military coups in recent years.
“The world is increasingly moving from democracy to illiberalism, and in West Africa’s case, the pace of the slide towards illiberal democracy, and now into full-blown military dictatorship is alarming and shows that democracy…