A soldier's rise to power

A military coup is a very serious matter. It's a tough mission and failure will have grave consequences. Ask Major Gideon Orkar. He almost overthrew IBB in 1990. In fact, he came very close, but General Babangida escaped the Dodan Barracks through a back door. 

General Babangida is actually the wizard of Nigerian military coups, having played a role in several from July 1966 to April 1990 as either a coup plotter or defending against a coup. Ultimately it was a coup against General Buhari in 1985, which made him the military president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

As a young Lieutenant IBB got his start in the counter coup of 1966. His counterparts were:

1. Lieutenant Sani Abacha
2. Lieutenant Muhummadu Buhari
3. Lieutenant Ibrahim Bako
4. Lt. Colonel Murtala Muhammad
5. Major Theophilus Danjuma

Things were different then. A coup was far easier to pull off in those days.  The environment was right.  All you had to do was kill or capture the significant figure heads in the political and military sphere of influence and you were in business. Now you must also neutralize the security apparatus the State Security Service (SSS) as they would be a major obstacle to the success of a coup.

Beyond that a contemporary coup must have the backing of the people. Without popular support the coup would fail, so timing is everything.  A coup executed in the wake of some catastrophic event or political assassination would have a much better chance of success.

If you don't believe me go to Minna and ask IBB. He knows, because he wrote the book. They don't call him Maradona for nothing. He is our father.