The Minister of Defence, retired General Christopher Musa, has said the Nigerian military performs better under a democratic system of government.
He stated that Nigeria is always better with democracy in place, stressing that military rule is not an option for the country.
General Musa made the remarks on Thursday while responding to questions during an interview on Prime Time, a programme aired on Arise Television.
According to him, the Nigerian military has lived up to its responsibilities by submitting itself to civilian authority.
The former Chief of Defence Staff said events such as Armed Forces Remembrance Day should remind Nigerians that military takeovers are wrong.
“One thing I’m very proud of is that the Nigerian military has stood up to its responsibility and subjected itself to military rule or military directives and you can see that the military actually thrives better in democracy,” he said.
He noted that some neighbouring countries have returned to military rule, which he described as a setback.
“Countries around us have gone the other way back into military misadventure which we believe, but we are also reaching out to them for them to understand that democratic governance is far better than the military,” Musa stated.
The Defence Minister strongly warned against any thoughts of coups in Nigeria.
“Coup is wrong and nobody should ever have that in mind. From now onward, no one should ever think of carrying out a coup in Nigeria,” he said.
He called on Nigerians to support democratic institutions and values.
“We must all put hand to support the democratic norms in place. We must continue to work hard to make Nigeria peaceful and secure for all Nigerians,” Musa added.
