ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to demonstrate the lasting significance of nationalism to African politics. It shows that not all authoritarian regimes were the same. The chapter also aims to trace the legacies of one-party and military rule, in order to show how they continue to influence political developments today. The one-party state proved to be one of the most durable and common forms of government in Africa after independence. Different experiences of authoritarian rule shaped the political landscape within which the transition to multi-partyism in the 1990s took place. Practising politics without politicians brought its own problems, however. The civilians appointed were called commissioners because Gowon believed that his countrymen 'were not anxious to see those who in recent years participated in politics back in ministerial seats'. Variations in the institutional structure of authoritarian rule in the 1970s and 1980s shaped the pathways different countries took to multi-partyism.
