For disrupting Nigeria’s democratic path and weakening its institutions, the military must tender an apology to the nation, foremost public commentator, Mr Ope Banwo, has submitted.
The legal practitioner, who called for a national reckoning, insisted that an apology would acknowledge the harm caused by repeated military interventions and reaffirm the supremacy of the constitution.
Speaking on the recently commemorated Armed Forces Remembrance Day, Mr Banwo argued that decades of political intervention by the military disrupted the country’s democratic growth.
According to him, repeated military takeovers did not rescue the country from early post-independence challenges but instead deepened instability and entrenched authoritarian governance.
While acknowledging that Nigeria’s early civilian leaders contributed to political chaos through electoral malpractice and ethnic tensions, he maintained that military coups worsened the situation, noting that the first coup in 1966 triggered a cycle of interventions that culminated in civil war, institutional breakdown, and long-term political trauma.
He emphasised that successive military regimes promised to fight corruption, restore discipline, and sanitise governance, but failed to deliver lasting reforms.
“Rather than ending corruption, they professionalised it,” he posited, adding that military rule created a powerful elite class that continues to wield influence in politics and business long after the return to civilian rule.
Mr Banwo further argued that the military never fully relinquished power, but merely exchanged uniforms for civilian attire, leaving behind a culture where constitutional authority is often treated as optional, stressing that in democratic societies, the armed forces must remain subordinate to civilian leadership, warning against any renewed appetite for military intervention in governance.
“The military is not Nigeria’s emergency solution to political failure,” he disclosed, urging the armed forces to focus on their constitutional responsibility of securing the country amid rising insecurity.