Coup in Nigeria: Since Nigerian independence in 1960, there have been five military coups in Nigeria. However, after the most recent coup, which occurred in 1993, Nigeria hasn’t witnessed any further significant attempts.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous state and a leading oil producer, is once again going to the polls this month. As the country heads for elections, there have been attempts to vitiate the environment, undermine the credibility of the elections, or influence their outcome. After all this, another possible coup has now haunted Nigeria but who could be behind such malicious plots?
Coup in Nigeria: Plan to disrupt the upcoming election
As per a report, an official from the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC party has said that generals held a secret meeting last week with the rival People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar.
Nigeria is set to hold its presidential elections on February 25th polls, with the three leading contenders being Bola Tinubu from the governing APC, Atiku Abubakar from the PDP, and Peter Obi from the Labour Party.
The Nigerian military has reportedly denied the governing party’s claim that the former is planning to disrupt the upcoming presidential election. In a statement, the army called the allegations “wicked” and “malicious”. Similarly, the government and the main political parties have not responded to the army’s statement.
Attempts to undermine Nigeria elections
However, as Nigeria heads for elections, there have been many attempts to undermine its democracy and influence electoral outcomes.
As we previously explained, social media is one of the ways in which Nigeria’s democracy is being undermined. In addition to this, the proliferation of arms and ammunition in the country is another significant threat to the integrity of the elections and makes Nigeria vulnerable to foreign interference, especially from the West.
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Considering the scenario, there is a possibility that the United States, which has a strategic interest in Nigeria’s vast resources and is seeking to expand its influence in Africa, may interfere in Nigeria’s elections using these tactics.
Thus, it seems that after exhausting other options to meddle in Nigeria’s elections, nefarious actors may now be attempting to foment a coup in the country with one of the largest economies in Africa. It is imperative that Nigerians resist such attempts with all their might to safeguard the hard-earned democratic progress achieved over the last several years, lest they become another African country struggling to restore its democracy. Similarly, with the elections just around the corner, it is likely that anti-democratic activities will be on the rise.
