ABSTRACT
The military elite that took power, and their allies in the Kaduna mafia, were supporters of the National Party of Nigeria for most of its life. The stated aims of the regime were identical with those of the second Shagari administration. The military introduced an authoritarian style of government with numerous decrees and military tribunals to bring politicians and other corrupt individuals to trial. One of the more serious clashes of the military with professionals was with medical doctors. The immediate economic objective of the regime was to further reduce government expenditure, control the budget deficit, and establish control over Nigeria's insatiable demand for imports. The intervention of the former army officers alarmed the regime, and it attempted to clamp down on all political discussion. But the divisions within the Supreme Military Council had intensified, providing the dynamic for a successful coup attempt after only twenty months of the Buhari regime.
