A lawyer, Joe Abah, has described the 1996 military coup as the greatest tragedy that ever befell Nigeria as a nation.

He lamented that the coup led to the collapse of a functioning and thriving regional system of government in the country.

Speaking on Wednesday on the theme, “Rebuilding Our Nation”, at The Platform Nigeria, an Independence Day event hosted by Covenant Nation Church in Iganmu, Lagos, the governance expert said the 1996 coup not only ushered in thirty years of military rule, but also led to the collapse of a thriving system of governance in Nigeria.

“The federal government and the regions in Nigeria then had concurrent responsibilities for many things, including arms and ammunition.

“Each region was responsible for internal security and policing. Unlike today, when we have a unitary police force, each region had its own police. They could conduct censuses truthfully because it was not tied to revenue sharing.

“To my mind, it is the greatest tragedy that ever befell our nation,” Abah stated.

Speaking further at the event, Naijaonpoint reports that Abah outlined Nigeria’s regional achievements in various sectors before military intervention.

“Between 1954 and 1964, the Eastern Region of Nigeria was the fastest-growing economy in the world, according to Harvard Business Review.

“The Western Region had free education, while the Northern Region was feeding the whole country and exporting pyramids of groundnuts and other agricultural products,” he stated.

He submitted that the regional competition yielded great results, but with the advent of the military, healthy competition and innovation among the regions were stifled, and Nigeria was divided into twelve states.

“The military mindset is one of command and control. They broke the country into 12 states, each headed by military administrators reporting upwards to a Supreme Military Council.

“That structure killed healthy competition and innovation. The mantra became ‘obey before complain’,” Abah said.