Ademola Adeyemo
28 May 2009
Lagos — On May 29, 1999, the then Military Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar handed over the reins of power to former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Today marks the tenth anniversary of that historic event and uninterrupted democratic rule in Africa’s most populous country. Ademola Adeyemo in this report examines the gains and pains of one decade of civil rule in Nigeria.
In his farewell speech on May 28, 1999, the then Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar declared that it was time for the military to return to its constitutional role of defending the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. According to him, “We must, forever, resist and renounce the seduction and temptation of political power and office. We must subject ourselves completely to civil authority. This is a sacred duty to which we must bind ourselves. It is our best guarantee to earn and retain the respect of our people. It is also your best chance for earning the approbation of the rest of a fast, changing world, in which new political and social values are transcendent.”
With the speech, Abubakar put an end to the long years of military rule from December, 1983, which had exposed Nigeria to coups and counter coups which had also rendered attempted democratic rule abortive.
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