Nigerian Army ( Image Courtesy- Wikimedoa commons/ US Military) There was a time not so long ago when a mutiny by Nigerian soldiers invariably led to bloodshed, arrests and a new government in Lagos. On Wednesday, when army troops launched an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate one of their country’s most prominent generals, it sent a shiver down older spines. The attempt was unsuccessful and appears to be no threat to the country’s government. But like the current standoff with Boko Haram, a militant group that kidnapped more than 200 girls last month from a remote village school, the botched assassination is shining an unwelcomed spotlight on a flailing military force. On Friday, President Goodluck Jonathan abruptly canceled his planned visit to the area due to security concerns. Nigeria ’s army came by its reputation for brutality honestly. The military ruled Nigeria as a dictatorship for most of the period between independence from Britain in 1960 and 1998, when