Former Military President General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (rtd) has given justification for his overthrow of the government of Major General Muhammadu Buhari in 1985.
Babangia who was the Chief of Army Staff to the military government headed by Buhari then gave the justification in Chapter Six of his memoire A Journey in Service. Chapter Six is titled Mounting the Saddle, Defining a Military Presidency.
IBB said the coup that overthrew Buhari was in response to national discontent and the deteriorating state of affairs.
“By the beginning of 1985, the citizenry had become apprehensive about the future of our country. The atmosphere was precarious and fraught with ominous signs of clear and present danger. It was clear to the more discerning leadership of the armed forces that our initial rescue mission of 1983 had largely miscarried,” he wrote.
He said the coup had not taken place at that time, there would have been a split in the Armed Forces, adding this could have led to a disastrous consequence for the country.
“If the Armed Forces imploded, the nation would go with it, and the end was just too frightening to contemplate,” he stated, adding as the military had initially taken over in 1983 with a shared sense of purpose, divisions had begun to emerge within the ranks.
“In state affairs, the armed forces, as the only remaining institution of national cohesion, were becoming torn into factions; something needed to be done lest we lose the nation itself. My greatest fear was that division of opinion and views within the armed forces could lead to factionalisation in the military. If allowed to continue and gain root, grave dangers lay ahead,” Babangida added.
According to IBB, Buhari and his deputy, Brigadier General Tunde Idiagbon, isolated themselves from the military establishment and became rigid, and were using an authoritarian approach to governance.
“They both posited a ‘holier than thou’ attitude, antagonising the civil populace against the military. Fundamental rights and freedoms were being routinely infringed upon and abused,” Babangida wrote.
He accused the Buhari administration of instilling fear rather than fostering trust and hope among the people.
“We were supposed to improve their lives and imbue the people with hope for a better future. Instead, we ruled the nation with a series of draconian decrees. An administration intended to reflect the collective will of the armed forces as a national institution came to be seen as the private personal autocracy of a stubborn few,” he wrote.
Babangida said the economic conditions worsened and there was public dissatisfaction during the Buhari military regime, which he said necessitated the coup.
“Like most military coups, our leadership change was informed by widespread disquiet among the civil populace. Ordinary people were experiencing severe economic hardship. The general economic and social conditions the people lived under were worsening by the day. Essential goods and supplies were scarce. Yet arbitrary controls in all aspects of economic life and an ancient resort to barter in international trade meant that the nation’s financial woes would not end soon,” he wrote.
The former military president said Buhari made draconian decrees which he said had severely restricted individual freedoms, while justice was often mechanical and harsh.
“Punishment for crimes against the state had led to the pursuit of mechanical legalistic justice against the dictates of natural justice,” he noted.
He revealed that junior officers started to mount pressure on him to act to prevent further erosion of the military’s credibility.
“On several occasions and instances, even the very integrity of the Armed Forces was being called into question,” and accused Buhari of disciplinary actions against senior officers without due process, which led him to consider resigning.
“A disciplinary case involving allegations of divided interest against some senior officers was decided without due recourse to the Army Council. Instead of waiting for a report and investigation from the Army leadership, the affected officers were unceremoniously relieved of their commission, and their military career of so many years was abruptly ended without any input from the Army as their institution of origin. I objected to this arbitrariness and disregard for due process,” he wrote.
Babangida said he opposed these actions, adding that that led to him being placed under surveillance “with the privacy of my communications and those of my family constantly monitored.”
“This tense atmosphere culminated in the unanimous decision of a broad spectrum of senior and middle-level officers to change the nation’s leadership. The processes associated with this change were completed without bloodshed by midnight on August 26, 1985,” Babangida stated.
A Washington Post report on August 27, 1985, quoted Babangida as saying that the Buhari government had been “too rigid and uncompromising,” had failed to end “economic mismanagement,” and had caused “intolerable suffering.”
