As the wave of coups sweeps through West Africa, inside the Nigerian Army the mood suggests nothing relating to seizing power and beginning a dictatorship because that won’t benefit anyone.

Whoever is making that call [a coup d’état] does not love Nigeria. We want to make it very clear that the Armed Forces of Nigeria are here to protect democracy, says Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, while in the Rivers State capital Port Harcourt on Wednesday 21 February.

The top Nigerian Army officer had just attended two headliner events. One was his inauguration of an army division’s facility and the other was when he commissioned the Nigerian Army and Officers Transit Accommodation. It was after these tasking rounds that he opened up to reporters about what the triangle were thinking. That is, the army which he represents, the Nigerian Navy and the airforce.

It was apparent that this thinking of staying true to democratic governance and riding the storm goes against those the defence staff chief regards as the enemies of the country. Noticeably, they have been ruminating on the idea of allowing a coup d’état in Nigeria.

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The neighbouring countries surrounding Nigeria – like Niger most recently, Mali, and Burkina Faso – have fallen into the sleepiness of coups because dictatorship historically never brings about positive long-lasting value. And so this is why the armed forces playing their duty to protect would be hard on those scheming behind the scenes.

They should be very careful because the law will come after them. We can see that with democracy, a lot of things are happening in Nigeria. Yes, we are going through trying periods, I mean in life, nothing is hundred percent.

Everybody goes through a trying period in life, and it is what you do with them. You can see the government putting efforts to ensure that we come out better.

It is when you go through difficulties and come out better that you will really appreciate what it is to build a nation. And so, we are going through our trying period,  but I can assure Nigerians that it will get better.

All we need is for all of us to put our hands together to ensure that we defeat those enemies of the government, those enemies of this country that don’t want us to succeed.

The past coup d’états in Nigeria have been army-led.

Since 1999, when Nigeria finally returned to democracy that the country was forced to leave six years after independence from Britain in 1960, the Army has been working at morphing into a modern professional unit.

Expectedly from Nigerians, their past experience of arbitrariness in the grips of soldiers have made them fear the worst of their servicemen and servicewomen who are seen to be cruel. But with this sense of assurance from the army’s greatest hierarchy, there is a sense now that nothing can go wrong in the line of coups.

Their countrymen held a breath for the army to deliver five tower 132 KV double circuit power transmission lines to the Tegina-Zungeru area of Niger State and it pulled through last week. All is looking like a reform since 1999 going in the right direction.

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But here, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa is speaking for the entire Armed Forces of Nigeria who get their orders from the president.

We will surely succeed and the Armed Forces are here to support the Government in ensuring that we develop, we succeed and to see that there is peace in Nigeria.

We all want democracy and we do better under democracy. And so we will continue to support democracy. And any of those ones that are calling for anything other than democracy are evil people and I think they don’t mean well for Nigeria.