A report by Afrobarometer has revealed that less than half of the Nigerian population is willing to accept a military takeover if elected leaders “abuse power for their ends”.
Afrobarometer is a pan-African research network that provides data and analysis on African citizens’ perspectives on democracy and governance.
In its latest report, titled “African insights 2024: Democracy at risk – the people’s perspective,” the research network noted that 66% of Africans in 39 countries prefer democracy to any other system of government.
The report, however, stated that “more than half of Africans (53% across 39 countries) are willing to accept a military takeover if elected leaders abuse power for their own ends.”
According to the survey, opposition to military rule in Africa has weakened by 11 points across 30 countries, most dramatically in Mali and Burkina Faso. While support for democracy has declined by 7 percentage points, including by 29 points in South Africa and 23 points in Mali.
The report stated that while the majority of Nigerians (56%) rejected the idea of a military takeover, 41% of the population preferred to be under military rule if civilian leaders would not stop abusing power.
Afrobarometer stated that corruption increased in Nigeria by 74% in recent years, noting that the presidency, parliament, civil servants, judiciary, and local government officials are all seen as corrupt by the majority of the citizens.
In recent times, four democratic countries, including Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger Republic, fell into the hands of coup plotters, gaining support from the majority of the population who perceived them as messiahs.
