President of the Historical Society of Nigeria (HSN) and head of History department, University of Ibadan, Professor Christopher Ogbogbo has acknowledged that the military have had significant impact on Nigerian history.

He made this known in an exclusive interview with CEOAfrica ahead of the society';s 63rd Annual Conference tagged "Impact of Military Factor In Nigerian History Since 1960" holding next month in Kaduna.

"I will not like to preempt the conclusions or resolutions of the conference, yes we are interrogating the impact of the military factor in Nigerian history since 1960. Without reaching a conclusion, one can swiftly assert that the military have been critical in the affairs of this country both in the professional capacity and in their entry into the political space.

"All Nigerians can attest to the fact that the military have impacted on us significantly. What we are going to the conference to discuss is to determine the degree of this impact and whether it has been beneficial or not. We want to interrogate these issues, because often we forget that the military are also Nigerians like the rest of us. We relate to a good number of them on a day to day basis. They feel our pains and we ought to feel their own pain and appreciate their challenges," he said.

He added that the conference gives an opportunity to interact with the military and be able to reach a conclusion regarding the scorecard of the military as far as Nigerian history is concerned.

According to Ogbogbo, " to be able to determine their scorecard, we need to hear from them and they need to hear from us and so it is going to provide us an opportunity for an exchange of intellectual idea with the hope that the outcome will help us shape the future of the military in the affairs of this country".

Speaking on the beneficial impact of the military since 1960, he noted that the military have had significant impact on nation building. He stressed that the fact that Nigeria was able to pull through and remain together as a country after the civil war was due to the effort of the military. He further added that the military have also deposited certain institutions like the NYSC scheme that have tended to wield the Nigerian nation together. In terms of infrastructural facilities, while suggesting they could have done more, he commended the military for the developmental strides that they were able to achieve.