Auspicious time to tame the military adventurers, by Kola Amzat

These past days, there have been multiple media reports claiming that some middle-ranking military officers attempted to orchestrate a coup aimed at ousting the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Even though, Defence Headquarters emphatically denied the claims, asserting that October 01 parade was indeed cancelled to enable the president participate in a strategic bilateral meeting outside the shores of Nigeria and, also for the members of AFN to sustain the already built momentum to combat the scourge of insurgency, banditry, terrorism and other criminalities, the fact remains that in every rumor, there is an element of truth.        

It’s also instructive that shortly after cloudy development, about 16 military officers of varying ranks were reportedly rounded up in what military authority described as a routine internal process aimed at ensuring professionalism, discipline and integrity of the military.

Despite the fact that the situation remains cloudy and uncertain, quite a number of Nigerians of discerning mind have seriously warned against any attempt at subverting the nation’s democracy. 

And, this writer joins this league by condemning in unequivocal terms any attempt to derail the nation’s hard-earned democracy.

There is no Nigerian who experienced the most oppressive and dastard decades of reign of military power that would again advocate for military intervention in the nation’s on-going democratic order.  

For the avoidance of doubt, military regimes especially, the one that spanned about 13 years, precisely between 1985 and 1998 that involved Muhammud Buhari, Ibrahim Babangida and dark-goggled Sani Abacha remained the darkest and most ruthless years in the annals of the country.

They together visited pains, agonies and tribulations on the citizenry for the period they reigned. 

Combined together, the period was characterized by gross maladministration, high-octane corruption, repression, deceit and deception in governance, extra-judicial killings, and undue ruthlessness and attacks on the citizenry.

With all intents and purposes, the military should never be an alternative.

Military suppresses fundamental human rights and freedom of speech. 

Military creates fiefdom.  Of course, military leaders act like emperors.

The military of 21st Century would definitely pose a significant challenge to socio-economic, infrastructural, educational, and medical, as well as other developmental initiatives. 

For emphasis, Nigeria still remains the bastion of African democracy; so, it would be a catastrophe for any group of coup plotters to attract support, as they would face absolute rejection from the global community.   

But, the crux of this write-up remains: why would any group of military adventurers want to subvert our democracy and overthrow the focus, patriotic and developmental government of President Bola Tinubu?

This is a regime that inherited absolute rot from previous administrations, with respect to infrastructural decay, near-economic collapse, maladministration at its zenith, insecurity in all the nooks and crannies, and of course, disunity, mutual suspicion, and disharmony amongst Nigerian ethnic groups.  

Despite these challenges, this president has since moved to frontally address them all, like biblical Moses who God positioned to rescue the Israelites from the clutches of Egyptians after 430 years in captivity.

The president has courageously instituted manifold reforms, amongst which are removal of petrol subsidies, unification of the exchange rate, a development that has created a market reflective and stable currency, restructuring local government council finances by granting LGA financial autonomy, pushing for tax reforms that has broadening the tax base, as well as ensuring a vibrant and sound fiscal framework in the history of Nigeria.

Remarkably, positive results are trickling in, from the reforms.

This includes admirable Gross Domestic Growth (GDP), inflation, agricultural production, food security and all other economic indices, all indicating positive trends.

Second quarter of 2025 GDP grew by 4.23%-Nigeria’s fastest growth in three years. Instructively, it outpaced 3.4% originally projected by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Inflationary rate declined to 20.12% in August 2025, the lowest in the past 4 years.

It’s also worthy of note that Nigeria had comfortably surpassed her 2025 non-oil revenue target of ₦20 trillion as at August ending.

As at September 2025, external reserves had surged to $42.03 billion, the highest since 2019.

On account of sound economic management, there was a major drop in the debt service-to-revenue ratio from 97% to under 50%.

The Tax-to-GDP ratio had also risen to 13.5% from less than 10%. The ratio is expected to increase further when the new tax laws become effective.

Nigeria also recorded a trade surplus for five consecutive quarters, a testament that the country is on track in her economic diversification initiatives.

On account of sound and vibrant security architecture put in place in Niger Delta, as well as effective management of the region’s major stakeholders, crude oil daily production now hovers around 1.65-1.7 million barrels/day from below 1 million in 2023, and more importantly, for the first time in 40 years, Nigeria now refines fuel domestically and leads Africa in aviation fuel exports.

Local currency (Naira) has relatively stabilized following the elimination of multiple exchange rates, which was previously fueling corruption in the currency market.

This government has also disbursed about ₦330 billion to about 8 million households under the Social Investment Program.

The administration is also expanding rapidly transport networks across the country, with growth of water, as well as rail transport hitting 40% and 27% respectively as at August.

Legacy road projects of Lagos-Calabar Coastal road, as well as Sokoto-Badagry expressway are progressing rapidly.

The stock market is experiencing a tremendous and unprecedented boom, rising from an all-share index of 55,000 points in May 2023 to 142,000 points in September 2025.

Of course, the international rating agencies had upgraded Nigeria’s rating, on account of greatly improved economic fundamentals.

This is the same government that a group of military adventurers, with inordinate ambition to rule, have wickedly risen up to topple.

If they’d succeeded, they would have dragged Nigeria back for another 50 years. They would have precipitated another civil war. They would have succeeded in creating a big gulf amongst Nigerian ethnic groups. Of course, they would have attracted global and international opprobrium and condemnation, which could have ousted Nigeria from the United Nations and other global international bodies.  

President Tinubu has responded well by effecting major changes in the composition of service chiefs. But, it goes beyond that.

Beyond 16 military officers that have been rounded up for their participation in the ugly exercise, the DSS and security team MUST beam the searchlight on the opposition members that have been deploying their dirty mouths calling for military intervention in the nation polity, for the reasons best known to them, with the hope of parading them in the court of justice and ultimately, meting out appropriate penalty to them all, and if possible, capital punishment, regardless of whoever is found to be culpable.

This writer also humbly implore the president to, through, National Security Adviser, Chief of Defence Staff, as well as Service Chiefs, initiative on periodic basis, Seminar/Symposium essentially dwelling on educating military personnel of all ranks on merits, demerits and consequences of subverting democracy, particularly in a huge democratic country like Nigeria,

It’s not impossible that those ambitious elements and power hungry in the military don’t know the remotest and non-remotest consequences of supplanting democracy in a country as big as Nigeria.

They need to be schooled and educated of the far-reaching effects of their thoughtless and mindless actions.                      .                   

Kola AMZAT (FCA, FCIB),

Lagos based Financial & Management Consultants,

09077509348.