(i). Alhaji Shehu Shagari swept back into power in his reelection in 1983 that was tagged Verdict 83. That election was not free, fair, credible and transparent, but was marred with massive electoral frauds and the suppression of the opposition political parties and their supporters at the polls. (ii). Nigeria's national economy was in a terrible mess. The oil boom of the 1970s had ended. The Nigeria's huge external debt stood at $14 billion and was no longer sustainable at the price that the Nigeria's oil sold for at that time. (iii). The menace of the official corruption had reached the highest government levels and was widespread. (iv). Acute food shortages were visible across Nigeria. (v). Nigeria was facing chronic unemployment and coupled with over 2 million illegal immigrants from the West African states that were living and working in Nigeria illegally. (vi). The health and the educational services across Nigeria were collapsing. Hospitals across Nigeria became mere consulting clinics. Teachers in many states were not paid their monthly salaries for many months. Many trade unions in Nigeria were on job boycott for months to press for better wages and benefits. (vii). Nigeria at that time was bedeviled by tribal animosity that threatened the unity of Nigeria and the peaceful coexistence of her ethnic nationalities.
The approach that the then reelected government of Alhaji Shehu Shagari took to address these national crises by announcing austerity measures and forcefully expelling the 2 million illegal immigrants from Nigeria did not solve any of these national problems. Nigeria in 1983 was at the crossroad of her existence, her democracy was already destroyed by the politicians with official corruption and election rigging. The tens of millions of ordinary Nigerians were suffering, helpless and powerless to change the situation they faced. Their votes did not count in the reelection of those politicians in 1983. The politicians had divided Nigerians using electoral rigging, politics of ethnicity and religion. Nigeria was at her final breaking point as a nation. The signs were loud and clear enough for any reasonable Nigerians to see. The Nigerian military came in on December 31, 1983 to save Nigeria from her self-induced miseries and ultimate collapse as a nation. The military government then appointed General Muhammadu Buhari to lead that government as the Nigeria's Head of State.
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