Nigeria democracy day: Despite anger the country sticks with civilian rule

Current President, Bola Tinubu, in power for just over a year, is facing the challenge of winning over the hearts and minds of young Nigerians amid a tough economic environment, some of which is of his own making.

His ending of the fuel subsidy and allowing the currency to devalue have sent prices shooting up.

These ambitious reforms were aimed at stabilising the economy and fostering sustainable growth in the long term, but that is no succour for those most affected.

And taking the past 25 years in Nigeria as a whole, the fact that the average income per person has seen a more than four-fold increase is unimportant for many.

It is how they perceive the current situation that counts.

As a consequence some young Nigerians, such as 33-year-old screenwriter MI Thomas, would not mind a return to military rule.

‘’I have voted since I turned 18 and all of the leaders have disappointed, every single one of them. Military regimes are decisive. They take swift action and bring effectiveness to governance,’’ he said.

A number of other young Nigerians have expressed the same desire on social media.

What may have encouraged this could be a lack of trust in the political class due to unfulfilled promises.

But it could also be a rose-tinted view of the past, with people saying that there was not as much crime and corruption during military rule.

But some may have forgotten, for example, that the late Gen Abacha looted and stashed a huge amount of public funds overseas. At least $6bn (£4.7bn) in cash and assets have been recovered so far.

It would be expected that President Tinubu was particularly sensitive to talk of military rule as he himself was once imprisoned for pro-democracy activities.

Very soon after coming to power, the president was faced with dealing with the coup in neighbouring Niger and was quick to condemn it and threatened military action – however his bold rhetoric came to nothing.

But at home, for its part, the military leadership has said that it has no interest in retaking power.

Chief of Defence Staff Gen Christopher Musa said in February that “people making such calls for a military takeover do not love Nigeria”.

“We want to make it clear that the armed forces of Nigeria are here to protect democracy. We all want democracy; we do better during democracy, and so, the armed forces will continue to support democracy.”