The Nigerian Political Economy in Transition Sani Musa February 2006 The military handed over power to a civilian administration on May 29 th 1999 with the inauguration of President Olusegun Obasanjo and 36 civilian state governors. Nigeria experienced direct military rule for 29 of its 45 years as an independent nation. At present, the emergence of retired generals in the political arena has marked the near total exit of populist politicians and political parties of deep ideological expression from the partisan political terrain. Nigeria has a population of 133 million, a landmass of 923,768km 2 , a bountiful endowment in arable land, solid minerals and petroleum/gas resources. Nigeria has the appropriate credentials for greatness. But, mismanagement of the economy, lack of public accountability, insensitivity of the leadership to the yearnings and aspirations of the people, corruption and insecurity of lives and property have been the critical issues in the nation’s life and public debate. Consequently low capacity utilization in the industries; inefficient and inadequate power supply; decay in the education and health sectors; galloping inflation; deteriorating value of the Naira against convertible currencies; unemployment and mass poverty characterized the Nigerian society and economy in May 1999 when the Obasanjo administration took over the reins of power.