Plato’s Idea of ‘philosopher King’ and Nigerian Leadership Crisis
Chapter One
AIM OF STUDY
The most urgent issue in Nigeria currently seems to be the issue on how to address the problem of leadership. Having done away with military leadership, Nigerians thought that embracing democratic rule would bring to us a responsive and responsible political institution that would promote a government that is accountable, government that would prevent corruption, respect human and civil rights, and ensure popular sovereignty, but the reverse is the case. In view of this, the aim of this work is to see how the issues of corruption, incompetent leadership, tribalism and nepotism, since they remained the most difficult problems in Nigeria leadership system, could be addressed.
For most Nigerians however, the pressing problems of everyday survival remain the highest immediate priority. And how could such immediate priority get to us without effective leadership and management? Nigeria is undoubtedly endowed with abundant human and natural resources to address its problems. The solution for addressing its problems and so consolidate democratic governance in the federal republic lies in having a government that works on the principles of good governance and is most especially, accountable to the Nigerian people.
Leadership crisis has done more harm than good in this nation of ours. The paupers are marginalized, men are shouting, women are screaming, children are crying- it is chaotic. The most baffling and awful of all is that Nigeria has all that it requires to be great, but who can bell the cat? Who can lead the people of Nigeria out of this dungeon? Our leaders have lost the quintessence of true leadership in pursuit of shadows. We have not truly had any significant input into the design and structure of our polity. Consequently, Nigeria is gradually but inevitably dwindling into mediocrity and ineffectiveness. Our leaders are no longer servants but masters. There is utter disregard for Ojukwu’s advice that
Those who aspire to lead must bear in mind the fact that they are servants and as such cannot ever be greater than the people, their masters.
In his political philosophy, Plato thinks that the most qualified in the state should be the person to rule. So, this work is aimed at bringing to lime light the need for someone who can pilot the affairs effectively and should be entrusted to take up the task.
Following the trend of Plato, those who have the greatest of the great qualities should have the first place unless they fail in some other respect, and for the scripture, when the good man is in power the people will rejoice.
CHAPTER TWO
PLATO’S POLITICAL THEORY
THE COMPOSITION OF THE POLITICAL SOCIETY
The state has a natural origin. It springs up due to the dependence of humans. It is an association of humans pooling their resources together to make up their individual lack. Aristotle traces it back to its generative component:
The family which develops from natural pair of man/woman; family gives rise to households, households to villages and villages to the state-the state being the apex of human associations, providing for all man’s needs.
Hobbes, on his own part, unequivocally refers to a ‘state of nature’ as a state in which men were before the formation of a civil society. For John Locke, a political philosopher, we come to a community of political interest for the common good of all. He said,
Want of a common judge with authority, puts all men in a state of nature, for without right upon a man’s person… makes a state of war.
Plato centred his argument first on the priority of man to the state. He believes that state grew out of the nature of individuals. According to him: “state is a natural institution, natural because it reflects the structure of human nature.” This is to say that the individual comes first before the state. The society or state is a community of division of labour and specialisation. This is because there will be hunters, fishermen, painters, poets, actors etc.
According to Plato, as the city increases, sooner or later the resources will begin to be exhausted and before long, people will begin to cut off a slice of their neighbours territory. This eventually leads to war as people try to interfere with their neighbour’s property and neighbours might intrude. War, according to Plato has their origin, “…in desires, which are the most fruitful source of evils both to individuals and states”
So, the guardians emerge to quench the war. At first, they represent the vigorous and powerful men who repel invaders and preserve internal order.
Now there are two distinct classes of people: those who fill all the crafts – farmers, artisans, and traders- and those who guide the community. From this later class are chosen the most highly trained guardians, who would become the rulers of the state and they represent the third and elite class. So are the three divisions of individuals in Plato’s political society:
- The artisans
- The soldiers, and
- The rulers or guardians
We shall explain them soon after.
CHAPTER THREE
NIGERIAN STYLE OF LEADERSHIP
Style of leadership could be referred to as the way, a leader or someone at the helm of affair pilots or conducts his/her activities. It includes, how often he involves the subjects in the policy or decision –making process; how often one prefers using punitive major as the only means of correction; maiming innocent citizens as a means of side-tracking them or sending them to the great beyond; how often a leader prefers being ego-centric and selfish rather than extending his magnanimity in alleviating the condition of the less privileged from their pauperised agony and socio- economic trauma.
A leader who is an extremist could either be autocratic or participative; either production oriented or relation oriented; either negative or positive. Virtue they say lies in the middle. It takes a good leader nothing to blend between the two extremes, through his or her wisdom and knowledge. For an effete or a weak leader, the reverse is the case.
Experts on leadership have concluded that no particular leadership style is the best all the time, said S. Kapena, in his book ‘How to be a Wise Leader’. This is because different situations would call for different leadership styles. So, a leadership style that is suitable for a certain situation may not be suitable for another situation. This is to say that, an effective and wise leader is the one who is able and flexible enough to use appropriate leadership styles as circumstances or situations dictate or warrant.
CHAPTER FOUR
PLATO’S POLITICAL SOCIETY VIS-À-VIS NIGERIA
PHILOSOPHER KING: OPTION FOR GOOD LEADERSHIP IN NIGERIA
Nigeria has not got a leader who could pilot the affairs of the country with less selfishness. The ugly scenario shown by our leaders, beat imagination. Our quest for competent leaders in Nigeria is taking precedence in our scale of preference.
Nigeria needs a leader who has concern for the people, and who show a sense of readiness to take advice; one who is optimistic, energetic, courageous, reliable, hardworking and honest. We want a leader who is dedicated to duty; one who has firmness of purpose and emotional resilience. Honesty, decisiveness, perseverance and enthusiasm should embellish the character of such a leader.
Below is a sketch of Nigerian leaders, the supposed “Philosopher Kings” since independence (1st October 1960).
CHAPTER FIVE
EVALUATION AND CONCLUSION
CRITICAL EVALUATION
Plato, no doubt, deserves a pat on the back for being able to enter into his intellectual laboratory and come out with this idea of leadership by the most competent. Plato’s political theory has attracted the staunchest support from friends, and aroused the bitterest attacks from foes. Some have considered Plato as having an idealist and utopian concept of the state whereas others have acknowledged him for his natural origin of the state. Nonetheless, criticism is part and parcel of the philosophical enterprise. As for P. Bodurin, “the greatest compliment you can pay to a philosopher and any scholar for that matter is to criticize his work.”
In order to protect the Nigerian nation from harsh economic, political and leadership problems, Plato suggests for us, in his political theory, to choose for ourselves a learned leader, a dynamic person, a philosopher king, in short, an Aristocrat.
The idea of “federal character”, i.e. allotting to various states or regions the number of representative for appointment in federal commissions, ministries and parastatals is against Platonic strategy for getting a leader. For instance, Ebonyi state could be asked to bring seven representatives and Enugu ten. Ebonyi state may not have up to seven competent representatives, while Enugu may have more than ten who are competent. The Nigerian style is that Ebonyi state would go on to bring seven even if all of them are incompetent while the competent ones in Enugu would be idle. Plato would advocate for the competent representative irrespective of where he or she comes.
Plato’s idea of choice of leadership is commendable but we should not accept it hook, line and sinker, without examining it, to know how it suits our nature. We really need to examine how it suits our nature. Plato admonished that the leader must be an adult with experience. For him, some years would be spent in acquiring practical experience. Thus he says,
… the philosopher king will have progressed through many stages of education … fifteen years would be spent gathering practical experience through public service. Finally, at age fifty, the ablest men would reach the highest level of knowledge, the vision of the Good, and would then be ready for the task of governing the state.
Practical experiences seem to betray Plato’s view of making academic excellence parallel to good governance. Neither will his prescription of communism of wives, children and property be sufficient to guarantee excellent human legislation and government. Aristotle reacting to this, stressed that it does not only violate man’s natural right to own property but also that men do better on that which is their own. Plato is indirectly supporting and advocating prostitution and wide spread of sexually transmitted disease, no doubt, abortion and pre-marital sex abuse will be on the increase.
Education is not a sufficient guarantee or condition for good governance. Though, leadership positions require more mental effort and only those with such capacity can meet up with it. But one could know and still choose to do otherwise.
Plato’s defenders will want to defend their master by simply classifying all and whatever criticism as a misrepresentation of what Plato stood for. They would state that the reason why Hitler, Goering, Goebbels, Himmler, Abacha and many of the developing–world leaders led the way they did was because they were perhaps not guided by reason and knowledge.
Plato presents us with five systems of governments in their descending order to choose for our country. They are, Aristocracy, Timocracy, Plutocracy, Democracy and Despotism. From this scale, it is obvious that Plato gave credence to Aristocracy than the rest. Pitiable enough, democracy was relegated so low and perhaps he sees it as a bad system of government. It is a system that comes out of a degenerating Plutocracy, which gives more rooms to mob actions. Plato envisaged a situation whereby states operating it would remain politically dwarfed and economically unproductive.
One would question whether the kind of democracy discussed here is that practised by Nigerians. Izu M. Onyeocha seems to be correct in saying that,
Nigeria is not a city-state such that democracy in the Greek thinking could be custom-tailored to suit it. Nor is it a homogenous entity such that one arrangement suits all. It is an agglomeration of nationalities that must have all its peculiarities carefully considered in order to be able to strike at an arrangement that is meaningful to all interest groups.
Plato’s effort in dividing individuals into classes or well-structured groups according to one’s capacity is a healthy development. He identified differences in natural talent. And that will help individuals to do that which they are best known for. Moreover, such division of labour will not only facilitate but also increase production.
Apart from the above, lack of procedure or method to follow in such grouping makes the whole programme a mere philosophical speculation and impracticable. Not only this, the grouping will bring about class distinction in the state. Surely, the result will be class struggle, superiority and inferiority menace. How sure are we that those whose function it is to do the grouping will not be biased and so favour their wards? His political theory is more theoretical than practical. It’s practical dimension is merely on the utopian level.
CONCLUSIONS
Nigerians seem not to have fundamentally worked their freedom. The reason being that both in theory and in practice, Nigerians are entangled in acute indecision on what kind of ideology to follow. The worst is that we adore money like ‘a god’. With a good chunk of your money, the populace will cast their votes for you at ease.
The need for competence as criterion for leadership cannot be overemphasised as a panacea to the problem of Nigeria. Nigeria needs leaders with vision, and insight as well as the willpower to put forward and maintain healthy economic growth that is truly and totally independent. We need philosopher kings, for according to Plato,
Until philosophers are kings, or the kings and princes of this world have the spirit and the power of philosophy… cities will never have rest from their evils…
That the political leaders of the world should all become philosophers is, no doubt, a paradigm. C. B. Okolo rightly interprets this to mean that development in all the strata of society will emanate if leaders emulate the philosophical virtues of wisdom, prudence, honesty, temperance, hard-work, etc.
It is time we say no to leadership attained through the barrel of the gun or through tribalism. Leadership in this country should be on merit. “Money politics” must not be the way out.
Plato’s option, the philosopher-king, by and large will remain the only option for Nigeria, if she must have competent and effective leadership, free from crises.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Abia, V. E., Understanding Nigeria Government And Politics, Lagos: Concept Publications Ltd, 2003.
- Achebe, C., The Trouble With Nigeria, Enugu: Fourth Dimension Publishers, 1983.
- Aristotle, The Politics, trans. John Warrington, England: The Aldine Press, 1962.
- Azikiwe, N., Renascent Africa, London: Frank Cass and Co. Ltd., 1974. , Democracy With Military Vigilance, Nsukka: Africa Book Company Ltd., 1974.
- Anyabolu, O. I., Nigeria Past To The Present, Enugu: Classic Publishing Company Limited, 2000.
- Babatope, E., Coups in Africa and The Barrack Revolts, Enugu: Fourth Dimension Publishers, 1983
- Ceasaire, A., Discourse On Colonialism, Trans. by Joan Pinkham, New York: monthly Review Press, 1972.