The Effect Of Military Rule On Nigeria Political Economy
[A CASE STUDY OF ABACHA REGIME 1993 – 1998]

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 

There are dearth of materials on the effects of military rule on the political economy of Nigeria. This study is therefore one of the intellectual contributions to this topic. The study will enable the citizens to compare the political and economic impacts of military rules with that of the civilian administration in Nigeria. Beside, it will assist government in the political economy reforms having learned from the experiences of the successive military regimes in Nigeria. 

In addition, this study will be beneficial to students lecturers and researchers who currently conduct research on military and political economic in Nigeria. It will also be a source of reference for future research on similar topic. 

1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 

This study is aimed at answering the following questions.

(a) Is military is the best system of government? 

(b) Does military rule allow the citizens to contribute to the development of the nation? 

(c) Does military rule guarantee human right? 

(d) Does military rule violence pose a threat to democratic government? 

(e) Does ethnicity constitute the effect of military rule on Nigerian political economy?

1.6 SCOPE AND LIMITATION 

This study covers the effects of Abacha regime on Nigeria political economy from 1993 to 1998. It will also be restricted to aspects of military administration, such as the features, historical background, and organisation. 

The underlisted constraints are the obstacles of this study. 

(i) Inadequate materials on the military and Nigerian political economy.

(ii) Financial and time constraints limited the study to Abacha administration. 

Inspite of the above problems, optimum use of the available resources were ensured. 

1.7 DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS

These definitions have been adopted as operational meanings for the following terms in the study. 

MILITARY: - This refers to a political and highly skilled body of persons specially trained to protect the territorial integrity of a nation.

This includes the arm, Navy and the Air force.

MILITARY RULE: This is a system of government by the military or the khaki boys: Army, Navy and Air force. 

POLITICAL ECONOMY: Political economy refers to the interrelationship between political and economic system. It explains how the political and economic set up of a nation is being organized. Presently, the Nigerian political economy can be best described as liberal democracy.