ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a critical account and assessment of the literature and discourses about the impact of Nigeria’s colonial legacy on the violent character and disposition of the Nigerian state as exhibited by its elites, particularly its political leaders. Particularly, it critiques the argued scope, influence and continued relevance of the ‘absolutist’ political structure that Nigeria inherited from the British colonial government on Nigeria’s democratic practices. This chapter answers the question: to what extent does Nigeria’s colonial legacy contribute to its militarised democracy?
