State-consolidation and social integration in Nigeria: The military’s search for the elusive

There have been many excellent scholarly contributions published on the role of the military and the reasons for its intervention in Nigerian political life, but this chapter focuses upon attempts by the military to foster nation-building or rather state-consolidation - and social integration, specifically within its own ranks but also within the wider society. Nigeria provides an excellent example of the artificiality of a modern African state. Its sociocultural cleavages are so great that one could speculate that integration of its diverse groups is an almost impossible task. The intense sociocultural divisions within Nigeria have had a marked impact upon the country’s armed forces. One hopes that the military, and the country as a whole, can merge unscathed and more united from the political transition program, and that the civilian government post-1992 will truly mark a new era in Nigerian politics.