Features, Achievements, and Weaknesses of Military System

Features of Military Government:

(i) Military governments come to power through coups and countercoups.

(ii) The military government always suspends the constitutionA constitution is a set of fundamental rules that determine how a country or state is run. More and rules through decreesA decree is an official order given by a government or by a person with power. For example, the president can issue a decree making a particular day a national holiday.... More and edictsIn Nigeria, the military rules the people through decrees and edicts. Laws passed by the central government during military regimes are known as decrees while those passed by regional governments during... More.

(iii) Political power is usually centralized.

(iv) Military governments are dictatorial and do not tolerate citizens.

(v) Political associations and activities are outlawed.

(vi) Political power is usually fused.

(vii) It appoints civilians into the government e.g. ministers and commissioners.

(vii) It uses coercion in the execution of government policies and laws.

(ix) The military shuts down the country’s border after a coup de ’tat.

(x) It also imposes a dusk-to-dawn curfew immediately after military intervention.

(xi) It tries to manipulate political transition programmes.

(xii) They are involved in sharp financial practices such as bribery, corruption, and settlements.

Achievements of Military Rule:

(i) It has prevented the country from breaking up.

(ii) It has promoted infrastructural developments such as the construction of stadiums, bridges, roads, etc.

(ii) It initiated various projects and programs aimed at improving the economy e.g. Operation Feed the Nation, Privatization and Commercialization, and the establishment of iron and steel industries in Ajeokuta and Warri.

(iv) It created state and local government authorities.

(v) It encourages regional cooperation e.g. establishment of ECOWAS.

(vi) It fought against apartheid policy in South Africa, colonialism, and neo-colonialismNeocolonialism is the control of less-developed countries by developed countries through indirect means. It is the use of economic, political, cultural, or other pressures to control or influence other countries More. It contributed to the liberation struggle in Africa.

(vii) It carried out reforms in the civil service in 1988 and local government administration in 1976 and 1990.

(viii) It initiated numerous mass orientation programmes e.g. DEFRI, NDE, OFN, Mass Transit Programmes, etc.

(ix) It drafted new constitutions based on the presidential system of government in Nigeria in 1979 and 1999.

(x) It promoted National integration by establishing and sustaining the NYSC programme, unity schools, quota system, etc.

(xi) It established many universities and centres for democratic studies.

Weakness of Military Government in Nigeria:

(i) The military is not, by training, prepared to administer the state but to defend the territorial integrity of the state. The constitution has also not empowered the military to rule a state.

(ii) Military rule is characterized by corruption, tribalism, sectionalism, and nepotismNepotism is the act of granting an advantage, privilege, or position to relatives or close friends in an occupation or field. These fields may include but are not limited to: business,... More.

(iii) Military government forces itself on the people through a coup d’état. It is unconstitutional and undemocratic.

(iv) The government is not accountable and responsible to the people.

(v) It arbitrarily creates states and local governments in the process creating confusion and boundary disputes.

(vi) Military frustrates all efforts at establishing democratic government e.g. banning political associations and meetings.

(vii) It is autocratic, dictatorial, and despotichaving unlimited power over other people, and often using it unfairly and cruelly. More.

(viii) It undermines judicial powers through the establishment of military tribunals.

(ix) There is an arbitraryAn arbitrary rule, action or decision often seems unfair because it is not based on any principle, plan or system. An arbitrary legal judgment is a decision made at the discretion... More use of power and abuse of fundamental human rights.

(x) It curtails freedom of the press.