MILITARY

This study investigates the role of the military in Nigeria’s democratic consolidation during the Fourth Republic (1999–2024), focusing on three key dimensions: internal security and stability maintenance, support for democratic transitions, and the reinforcement of civil-military relations. Despite over two decades of uninterrupted civilian rule, Nigeria’s democracy continues to face challenges from insecurity, weak institutions, and residual authoritarian influences, making the military a pivotal actor in democratic sustenance. Guided by a quantitative descriptive survey design, data were collected from 400 respondents, including military personnel, civil servants, political scientists, and civilians across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, using a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-Square tests to examine the relationships between military roles and democratic consolidation. The findings reveal that the military’s engagement in internal security, its support for peaceful democratic transitions, and improved civil-military relations all have significant positive effects on democratic consolidation. The study concludes that a professional, constitutionally guided, and democratically accountable military is crucial to sustaining Nigeria’s democracy. Recommendations include strengthening civilian oversight, integrating democratic values into military training, and fostering inter-agency cooperation to maintain stability without undermining democratic norms

Military rule in Nigeria between 1975 and 1979 marked a significant chapter in the nation's history, particularly under the leadership of General Murtala Mohammed, the regime was invested into a series of reforms that not only reshaped Nigeria's domestic landscape but also profoundly influenced its foreign policy objectives. This project provides a comprehensive overview of Murtala Mohammed's foreign policy thrust during his brief tenure, analyzing the motivations behind his decisions, the geopolitical context of the time, and the implications for Nigeria's international relations