The Second Republic and its fallOne of the many obstacles Nigeria had to overcome in its attempt to return to civilian rule and then implement a new system, was the fact that competition policy encouraged the use of sectional identification. On the one hand, there is a need to understand the nature of the dynamics of Nigerian society, particularly with regard to the ethnic phenomenon. On the other hand, the theoretical formulations that already exist regarding the nature of politics in segmented societies need to be confronted in order to achieve a closer rapprochement between these themes and the socio-political realities of Nigeria (Joseph, 1987: 43). The Second Republic (1979-1983) style constitution was designed for the Nigerian type of democracy where natural affairs rather than the state are favored to avoid the winner-takes-all model of the British parliamentary system. American parties comply with the Constitution because of its disciplinary provisions. In Nigeria, political parties followed the British style of politics, where “income distribution between politicians and their clients at the national, state and local levels” is the order of the day (Shehu et al; 1999: 34). Bitter conflicts abounded within political parties in both states and at the federal level over the distribution of the spoils; therefore, the inability of politicians to manage conflicts led to the demise of the democratic government of the Second Republic and the return of military government. In the transition program to the Second Republic, the main concern of military leaders was to prevent a recurrence of the errors of the First Republic. They believed that if the structures and process of government and politics that had proven inadequate under the First Republic could be changed, then stable and effective civil government was designed to resolve these fundamental, historically divisive problems, and to establish new political institutions. , processes and directions. The second aspect of the transition involved the development of a new constitution and appropriate institutions. Decree Number 25 of 1978 promulgated the 1977 Constitution. It differed from the First Republic of 1963 in that it introduced an American-style presidential system (Nwoked, 199:73). Previous... middle of article... as is the estimated drop in GDP of 10 percent. The repressive strategy of Buhari's army has further engendered deep resentment and bitterness among the population who feel they have been denied. of their personal freedom. Furthermore, according to Othman, "the military government was increasingly motivated by dissensions over economic management strategies, the detention and trials of political detainees, and the rise of Brigadier General Tunde Idiagbon, the head of state." -major, supreme headquarters, and driving force of military government. behind the authoritarian policies of the regime and the Nigerian Security Organization (NSO)” (Othman, 1999: 40). Two factors were instrumental in the final downfall of military rule: One was the risk of what Diamond called a "political convulsion," an attempt to impose a monolithic order on Nigeria's vigorously polarized society. (Diamond, 1999: 443). The second factor was the regime's declaration in July 1985 of its intention or plan to return Nigeria to civilian rule. These actions further isolated Buhari and Idiagbon from their military colleagues, including their arrogance in ignoring critical opinions, even among the military's top brass...