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Political instability has been a consistent feature in Nigeria long before the current wave of military rule. Thus, the average Nigerian has not known peace and has been in consistent search of stability and predictability in the political sphere for a long time. Political instability has now attained alarming proportions, with spill over effects that have turned Nigeria into a refugee-producing country. Three contributing factors of the Nigerian government in generating refugees have been the continual rewriting of the Nigerian Constitution, the seemingly-endless creation of states, and warped government policies and programs.

This article discusses the difficulties encountered by military men when they attempt to disengage from politics and relates these to the Nigerian experience. These difficulties have hindered the disengagement efforts of the various Nigerian military administrations until the Muhammed/Obasanjo regime. The success of the Muhammed/Obasanjo administra tion lies in three factors: the dogged determination of the regime to check antidisengage ment factions, the ability of the officers to use civilian-based institutions as legitimizing fronts for the desires of the officers, and the ability of the officers to maintain an outward position of neutrality. The posture of neutrality is, however, found to be hypocritical. The officers had their plans and, as long as they found civilians who could produce desired results, the military was content to remain in the background. When desired results were not guaranteed, the officers intervened openly and forcefully.