ANOTHER achievement of that military dispensation was the conduct of a population census for the country in 1973. Prior to that head-count the last one was held in 1963. In spite of allegations that the census figures were fraught with irregularities and fraud, it went down in history that those head-counts were held and offered some basis of estimation in planning and forecast for the nation.
The thirteen years of military rule further offered another state creation for the nation when on February 3, 1976, seven more states were created to bring the number of states to nineteen. This state creation by General Murtala Mohammed, who was the Military Head of State, was destined to precede the General's assassination ten days later. The nineteen new states and their capitals were:
• Anambra Enugu
• Bauchi Bauchi
• Bendel Benin-City
• Benue Makurdi
• Borno Maiduguri
• Cross River Calabar
• Gongola Yola
• Imo Owerri
• Kaduna Kaduna
• Kano Kano
• Kwara Ilorin
• Lagos Ikeja
• Niger Minna
• Ogun Abeokuta
• Ondo Akure
• Oyo Ibadan
• Plateau Jos
• Rivers Port Harcourt
• Sokoto Sokoto
Apart from bringing an end to the three-year civil war which ravaged the nation during the Gowon military regime, it was also during that regime that Nigeria hit its oil boom. In spite of the neglect of agriculture, which had been the mainstay of our economy prior to the exploration of petroleum, enormous funds accruing from our crude oil facilitated our development in all sectors including education, health, commerce and industry, external affairs, to mention just a few. In education in particular, many universities were established with facilities provided for their accelerated immediate take-off.
The reforms of the civil service and the Local Government Reforms of 1976 are other areas of glowing tribute to the thirteen-year military rule. The most significant achievement of the military dispensation of that time is the successful hand-over of power from the military to civilians on October 1, 1979. That successful hand-over of power ushered in the Second Republic, which lasted between October 1 1979 and December 31, 1983.
Like the First Republic, the Second Republic was bedeviled with widespread corruption and high-handedness of the major political actors, especially members of the ruling party. In the First Republic, the nation adopted the Parliamentary System of Government. The three major parties were the Northern People's Congress (NPC), the National Convention for Nigerian Citizens (NCNC) and the Action Group (AG). The serious crises and upheavals generated by the regional /ethnic nature of these parties heated up the polity to the extent that they snuffed life out of the Republic. In pursuance of divergent agenda by discordant and renegade politicians, new associations sprang up to further heat up the system till the military intervened. Such ensuing associations included the National Democratic Party (NDP), The Nigeria National Alliance (NNA) and the United Progressive Grand Alliance (UPGA).
In 1978/79, the transition to civil rule of the time embraced the Presidential System of Government. Five political parties were registered under the aegis of the late Chief Michael Ani-led Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO), the parties and their leaders/presidential aspirants were as follows:
•National Party of Nigeria (NPN) – Alhaji Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari
•Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) – Chief Obafemi Awolowo
•Nigerian People's Party (NPP) – Chief (Dr) Nnamdi Azikiwe
•Great Nigeria People's Party (GNPP) – Alhaji Waziri Ibrahim
•People's Redemption Party (PRP) – Alhaji Aminu Kano
These parties contended for the governance of the country in 1979 General Elections. At the end of it, the Alhaji Shagari's NPN was adjudged to have the towering influence, followed by Chief Awolowo's UPN. Alhaji Shebu Shagari won the presidential election in controversial circumstances. The various parties shared the control of states in the federation among one another in various proportions and this generated lots of crises in the polity. Like it happened in the First Republic, it was alleged that the 1979 General Elections was fraught will fraud, irregularities and electoral malpractices, which led to its being discredited.
At the end of the first four-year tenure, Nigeria again went to the polls for another round of General Elections in 1983, the Justice Ovie Whiskey-led FEDECO fielded six political parties for the General Elections- the earlier-mentioned five political parties with an addition of Nigeria Advance Party (NAP) led by Mr. Tunji Braithwaite. Also before the polls, PRP's Alhaji Aminu Kano had passed on.
The violence following the 1983 general elections was too serious to narrate. Massive killings, widespread looting, arson and destruction of property trailed the conduct of the polls and the release of election verdict by FEDECO. As at October 1 1983, Nigeria had become notorious among the comity of nations for electoral irregularities and violence. Specifically, our politicians were blacklisted for ballot stuffing, ballot box snatching and manipulation of election figures.
Compared with the First Republic the Second Republic in Nigeria presented no impressive or remarkable improvement. The ruling NPN became too powerful for decorum and decency. NPN became master to Nigeria rather than servant and like all masters who lord it over their subjects, the winner insisted on taking all it could. This had adverse telling effect on the economy. Thus, the bad trend of foundation was laid for the problems of inflation, unemployment and adverse foreign exchange which we still grapple with today by that NPN-led Second Republic.
Osun Defender