THE PHILOSOPHER KING AND LEADERSHIP IN CONTEMPORARY NIGERIA: TOWARDS A NEW SPACE OF PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT
The deficiency in governance and the socio economic imbalance that have wreaked havoc on Nigeria's political landscape since independence point to a clear manifestation of leadership failure. The country had been governed by a generation of leaders who did not grasp the fundamentals of leadership, hence the abysmal failure to develop socio-economic and relgio-political strategies that would have allowed for sustained and meaningful nation-building. These leadership challenges are evidenced in political, social, and economic instability, as well as the prevalence of ethnic majority chauvinism, political instability and religious intolerance, which have all hampered Nigerian development. This is the justification behind Plato's suggestion in his socio-political philosophy that every political leader must be knowledgeable in philosophy. However, Plato's notion of philosopher king is not without scorn. This paper examined the notion of Philosopher King and its relevance to the leadership failure in the contemporary Nigeria. The paper adopted the qualitative research method, with reliance on primary and secondary source materials interpreted analytically on the subject matter. Although Plato's theory of the ideal state in his socio-political philosophy is admirable, the study found that it contains some outrageous and impractical elements that, if put into practice, could lead to dictatorship, tyranny, insensitivity, slavery, revolution and pessimism, making it unrealistic and misleading. In attempt to solve the leadership failure in the contemporary Nigeria, this study proposed the principle of common good in Ziibalogzii Philosophy, implying humanness and community engagement over material wealth, and quality of community life over the acquisition of material things. The paper contended that the postcolonial Nigeria would have seen growth and progress in every sector if the leaders had diligently performed flawless and selfless services in the course of their leadership responsibilities.The paper called for the adoption and a coherent application of Ziibalogzii philosophy in order to address the socio-economic imbalance and governance deficit that have wreaked havoc on Nigeria's political system. Keywords: Leadership, Philosopher King, Ziibalogzi
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