Analysts note “mammoth task” ahead

Nigerian analysts have said the new civilian government will face the mammoth task, when it takes power in May, of building a democratic order after decades of military rule. “We have to clean our psyche and really demilitarise our way of thinking and doing things,” Abdul Oroh, director of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), told IRIN. He said he saw the role of CLO and other NGOs which - along with the independent media - led the opposition to army rule, as one of civic education and strengthening democratic process. “Most Nigerians under the age of 30 have never really known civilian rule,” he pointed out.

Some analysts have questioned the “civilian” nature of Obasanjo’s government, but Oroh insisted that “no matter how weak a civilian administration, it’s better than military rule”. However, Nigerian journalist Remi Oyo expressed concern that “if we have a government that has any trace of the military in it, we will be heading back to where we came from - that is extreme intolerance”.