ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the major themes in the civil-military thought of postcivil war Nigeria. The five amjor themes are: defence, development, demobilisation, demilitarisation, and democratisation. The idea of citizen soldiers carrying arms in defence of the country alongside a small corps of professionals ran strong in the thinking of most Nigerians. The task–forces will thereby contribute in a substantial manner to the development process beyond the narrow confines of security. The demobilisation debate induced an even more pro–military stance, as they found themselves obliged to conform more or less to if not to out do the wishes of the regime they serve. Demilitarisation, the fourth in themes of contemporary Nigerian civil-military thought, although never specifically used as a term, refers to the process of military disengagement from politics and withdrawal back to the barracks. The major strands of forgoing analysis to the issue of democracy and their interconnections were in the ideas on civil–military relations advanced by articulate Nigerians.
