The north dominated the armed forces following the Biafra civil war in the late 1960’s. As military rule became the norm in Africa in the 1970’s, northern army officers imposed an authoritarian and predatory mode of governance on the country, a vicious grip that was loosened only when a resurgent civil society forced them to return to the barracks in 1999.
南方人的担心很有道理。20世纪60年代末的比夫拉内战以来，武装部队就一直为北方所控制。随着20世纪70年代军事统治在非洲的巍然成风，北方军队的军官们也在治国上采取了独裁和掠夺的方式，这种邪恶的控制直到1999年复兴的平民社会把他们赶回到军营之中后才有所缓解。奥巴桑乔的当选标志着平民执政的回归。