President Bola Tinubu on Saturday urged the Nigerian Army to shun actions that could truncate Nigeria’s democracy. The president made this plea at the Diamond Jubilee of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in Kaduna on Saturday, according to his spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale. “I urge you to continue to play your constitutional role of safeguarding the territorial integrity of Nigeria, our fatherland,” said Mr Tinubu.
Mr. Tinubu added that the army “must shun any acts that are inimical to the well-being of our nation and acts which can destroy the gains of democracy that we have enjoyed in the last 20 years.” While celebrating fallen heroes who lost their lives protecting the country’s territorial integrity, Mr. Tinubu said, “The war against the enemies of Nigeria is not over.” He charged the Nigerian Army to “upscale the fight against insecurity, which has robbed us of peace and progress.”
The president’s plea to the Nigerian Army to shun actions that are capable of truncating democracy comes as the continent witnessed a series of coup d’états. In the past three years, several African countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Sudan, and most recently, Niger Republic and Gabon have been controlled by military juntas who cited corruption, insecurity and increased poverty as the bases for the takeover from democratic governments.
From 1966 to 1993, Nigeria experienced several coups, excused by military regimes on widespread corruption, electoral fraud and violence, poverty, and insecurity. The country returned to democracy in 1999.