Federal Republic of Nigeria | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979–1983 | |||||||||
| Motto: "Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress"[1] | |||||||||
| Anthem: Arise, O Compatriots[1] | |||||||||
.svg) | |||||||||
| Capital | Lagos | ||||||||
| Common languages | |||||||||
| Religion |
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| Government | Federalpresidential republic | ||||||||
| President | |||||||||
• 1979–1983 | Shehu Shagari | ||||||||
| Vice President | |||||||||
• 1979–1983 | Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme | ||||||||
| Legislature | National Assembly[2] | ||||||||
• Upper house | Senate | ||||||||
• Lower house | House of Representatives | ||||||||
| Historical era | Cold War | ||||||||
| 1 October 1979 | |||||||||
| 31 December 1983 | |||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
| [3] | 923,768 km2 (356,669 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Currency | Nigerian naira | ||||||||
| Time zone | UTC+1 (WAT) | ||||||||
| ISO 3166 code | NG | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Nigeria Cameroona | ||||||||
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TheSecond Nigerian Republic was a brief formation of theNigerian state which succeeded the military governments formed after the overthrow of thefirst republic.
Contested elections and political turbulence in theWestern region endedNigeria's First republic in 1966 with the overthrow of thegovernment by majors of the Nigerian army. A unitary style of government was subsequently decreed into law.[4] After acounter-coup six months later, the country was drawn into acivil war betweenfederal forces and Biafran forces (Eastern region). Just before the war, 12 new states were created from the four regions. After the victory of federal forces in 1970, the country began a period ofeconomic boom fueled by increasing oil production and rising oil prices. The Nigerian governing structure was further broken up with the creation of smaller states in 1976, bringing the total number of states to 19.[4]
Following the assassination of Nigerian military head of state, GeneralMurtala Mohammed in 1976, his successor GeneralOlusegun Obasanjo initiated the transition process to terminate military rule in 1979. A newconstitution was drafted, which saw thewestminster system of government (previously used in thefirst republic) jettisoned for anAmerican-stylepresidential system. The 1979 constitution mandated thatpolitical parties andcabinet positions reflect the "federal character" of the nation.Political parties were required to be registered in at least two-thirds of thestates, and each state was required to produce at least one cabinet member.
Aconstituent assembly was elected in 1977 to draft a new constitution, which was published on 21 September 1978, when the ban on political activities was lifted. In 1979, six political parties competed in a series of elections in which AlhajiShehu Shagari of theNational Party of Nigeria (NPN) was elected president. Obasanjopeacefully transferred power to Shagari, becoming the first head of state in Nigerian history to willingly step down. All six parties won representation in the National Assembly. In August 1983, Shagari and the NPN were returned to power in a landslide victory, with a majority of seats in theNational Assembly and control of 12 state governments. But the elections were marred by violence and allegations of widespread vote rigging and electoral malfeasance led to legal battles over the results.[5]
In the widely monitored 1979 election,Alhaji Shehu Shagari was elected on the NPN platform. On 1 October 1979, Shagari was sworn in as the first [President of Nigeria|President and Commander-in-Chief] of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The military carefully planned the return to civil rule putting in place measures to ensure that political parties have broader support than witnessed during the first republic. But there was also uncertainties, like the first republic, political leaders may be unable to govern properly bringing another batch of new military rulers.[4]
| President | Term | Party |
|---|---|---|
| Shehu Shagari | 1 October 1979 – 31 December 1983 | NPN |
Tai Solarin, an educationist, mounted public podiums regularly to speak-out in defiance of what he strongly felt were the negative views of the Second Republic government. Another such activist wasAyodele Awojobi, a professor of Mechanical Engineering, who filed several lawsuits and organised political rallies in protest of the Nigerian election results that returnedShehu Shagari, the incumbent, as president in the Second Republic - he strongly believed the results were widely rigged.
On 31 December 1983, the military overthrew the Second Republic. Major GeneralMuhammadu Buhari, became the military leader of the new government, citing charges of corruption and administrative incompetence as reasons formilitary intervention. Buhari emerged as the leader of the Supreme Military Council (SMC), the country's new ruling body. President Shagari was placed underhouse arrest, and several of his cabinet members were either jailed or exiled. The Buhari government was peacefully overthrown by the SMC's third-ranking member GeneralIbrahim Babangida in August 1985.[7] Babangida gave misuse of power, violations of human rights by key officers of the SMC, and the government's failure to deal with the country's deepening economic crisis as justifications for the takeover. During his first days in office, President Babangida moved to restorefreedom of the press and to release political detainees being held without charge. As part of a 15-month economic emergency plan he announced pay cuts for the military, police, civil servants and the private sector. President Babangida demonstrated his intent to encourage public participation in decision-making by opening a national debate on proposedeconomic reform and recovery measures. The public response convinced Babangida of intense opposition to an economic recovery package dependent on anInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) loan.
| Queen (1960–1963) |  | |
|---|---|---|
| President of theFirst Republic (1963–1966) | ||
| Military regime (1966–1979) | ||
| President of theSecond Republic (1979–1983) | ||
| Military regime (1983–1999) | ||
| President of theFourth Republic (from 1999) | ||
*Civilian; headed transition to abortiveThird Republic | ||
