African military rulers envision themselves as selfless soldiers working crisply and cleanly to lift their countries out of the morass of dirty politics. Unlike politicians, who must cater to petty interests in petty places, the soldiers believe they serve a higher code, a military code that puts honor and nation above self. The keynote for this was set by Lt. Gen. J.A. Ankrah, military ruler of Ghana, in early January when he welcomed the young officers who run Nigeria's federal government and four regional governments to a mediation conference in Aburi, Ghana. "We are soldiers," Ankrah told them, "and soldiers are always statesmen, not politicians." This is a myth, a foolish, fanciful, frivolous myth, and nowhere is it better demonstrated than here in Nigeria, a country ruled by soldiers now for 15 months. The soldiers are younger, more honest, more idealistic and more inexperienced than the politicians who came before, but they are pushed and shackled and inspired by the same political needs and demands, and they react in much the same way...

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