₦airaland Forum

keentola:
I started reading this book a few days ago after various recommendations from friends, and after going halfway through it, I had the urge to start doing some reviews on it.

It is an interesting read, if you are curious about this country's history.

Max is one of the leading authorities on anything Nigeria. I will keep updating as the spirit directs.

NOTE: These reviews are not necessarily in chronological order, but I will try and post it in a way that readers will still understand what's going on.

Student involvement in the SAP riots presented the FMG with an excellent opportunity to confront the sometimes radical and subversive student activism which had been a bane of previous governments. The January 1966 Majors had ideological and social links with radical intellectuals atthe University of Ibadan, the “Araba” riots which preceded Major-General Aguiyi-Ironsi’s overthrowin July 1966 had origins at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, and the regime of General Obasanjo also clashed with students.

Student activism was of such concern to the FMG that the intelligence agencies presentedmemoranda to the FMG identifying student unions as a source of opposition and subversion. TheFMG responded by buying off and deliberately creating divisions and rival factions within studentunions. The factions eventually confronted each other with deadly casualties. Soldiers were sent tocampuses where violent disturbances occurred and many campuses were sporadically closed down by the military for several months at a time in order to keep a lid on student agitation.

The FMG threatened to keep campuses closed indefinitely. The use of force and closure of campuses further radicalised students, and pushed some of them into secret cults which evolved into armed gangs that roamed campuses, intimidating, robbing, terrorising and raping their fellow students and lecturers. Nigerian student unions and campuses have never recovered from the assault on them by Babangida’s security forces.