Public commentator and technology entrepreneur, Dr. Ope Banwo, has called on the Nigerian military to offer a formal apology to the nation for what he described as decades of political intervention that derailed Nigeria’s democratic development and weakened its institutions.
Banwo made the remarks on Armed Forces Remembrance Day, using the occasion to reflect critically on the country’s long and often troubled relationship with military rule. In a strongly worded commentary titled “Why the Military Must Apologise for Derailing Nigeria’s Destiny,” the self-styled Mayor of Fadeyi argued that repeated military interventions in governance caused long-lasting damage to Nigeria’s political, economic, and social foundations.
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While acknowledging that Nigeria’s early civilian leaders contributed to political instability through election malpractice, ethnic tensions, and governance failures, Banwo insisted that military coups did not correct those problems but instead worsened them.
According to him, the military’s first intervention in 1966 marked the beginning of a cycle of coups that plunged the country into deeper instability, culminating in a civil war that cost millions of lives and disrupted generations of progress.
“The military did not come in as surgeons and leave as doctors,” Banwo said. “They came in as ‘saviours’ and left as landlords.”
He argued that years of military rule entrenched authoritarian governance, over-centralisation of power, and a unitary system that continues to strain Nigeria’s federal structure. Banwo also criticised the handover to civilian rule in 1979, describing it as rushed and poorly structured, before the military returned to power again in 1983.
Banwo further questioned the military’s repeated justification for coups, noting that promises to sanitise politics, fight corruption, and restore discipline were never fulfilled.
“Between the regimes of Buhari, Babangida, Abacha, and Abdulsalami, Nigeria was left weaker, more traumatised, and more institutionally broken,” he said, adding that corruption was not eliminated but rather “professionalised.”
He also alleged that military rule created a powerful elite class of former officers who later transitioned into civilian politics and business, retaining disproportionate influence long after leaving office.
According to Banwo, the military’s influence never truly disappeared even after the return to democracy, arguing that retired officers continue to shape political outcomes while civilian authority is often treated as secondary.
“In sane democracies, the military answers to civilian authority without exception,” he said. “In Nigeria, we sometimes behave as though the constitution is optional.”
Banwo warned against renewed calls or speculation about military intervention in governance, stressing that democracy, though imperfect, must be corrected through civilian processes such as elections, reforms, activism, and accountability—not force.
He urged the armed forces to refocus on their constitutional role of defending the nation against security threats, particularly in the face of rising banditry, terrorism, and communal violence across the country.
“The military is not Nigeria’s emergency solution to bad politics,” Banwo said. “Its job is defence, not governance.”
Concluding his remarks, Banwo called for a national reckoning, insisting that a formal apology from the military would serve as an acknowledgment of the damage caused by decades of intervention and reinforce the supremacy of the constitution.
“In a civilised society, the gun answers to the constitution—always,” he stated.
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