Saturday, November 18, 2017

NIGERIA EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM AT THE CROSS ROAD: A CRY FOR RETURN TO MISSIONARY

 TOLU’ ELUSIYAN 

As mortals, our earthly pilgrimage that commences from the womb inevitably ends in the tomb. However, in the course of this pilgrimage, man often formulates ideas and values on a permanent basis. And because he will die one day and would not like to be forgotten, a need then arises to initiate a medium through which these values will be passed to the next generation. Essentially, this is to ensure that there is order in the society. This transmission of values from one generation to another is what we commonly refer to as education.

It is an established fact that education has a significant role to play in national development. In fact, it is the starting point of development because it is the vehicle with which knowledge and values are conveyed to their destination, that is, the individuals who are to acquire such knowledge and values.
A close look at Nigerian society reveals ineffectiveness, inefficiency and insincerity in the various aspects of human involvements-leadership, politics, construction and maintenances of infrastructure and so on. Nigeria is blessed with variety of educational institutions which are supposed to be domes for teaching and learning, enlightening and enriching of experiences for social efficiency and ultimately where persons come in contact with knowledge. The end result of such confrontation with knowledge is literacy. Literacy is not just about reading well and writing well. It is all about intellectual order, which includes creative knowledge, development of personality, information, social efficiency, mental and moral discipline and social responsibility.

The problem of value is fundamental to the causes of inability to realizing the ideals of education in Nigeria. This problem of value includes the deficiency in recognition of the dignity of human person and respect of the human dignity, dignity in labour and social responsibility. Thus, the leaders, the university authorities, teachers and students suffer from these crises of value.


From the domain of the university authorities- academic and non-academic, the cherished principles and ideals of university are lost, resulting to admission scandals, bribery and graft, victimization, sexual harassment of female students, extortion and so on. Thus, there is misplacement of priority. From the part of the students, the crises of value have led to various illicit, immoral and anti-social behaviours. Accordingly, there are gross examination malpractices, cult activities, armed robbery, theft, and lack of seriousness, prostitutions and other anti-social behaviours. There should be corroborative efforts of the government, the leaders, parents and students to change this condition. We need quality higher institutions that turn out viable graduates with creative knowledge and perspicacity as expressions of intellectual order; and this is also applicable to our secondary schools as well.

THE CURRENT FAMOUS QUOTES OF ROBERT MUGABE

THE CURRENT FAMOUS QUOTES OF ROBERT MUGABE
COMPLIED BY TOLU’ ELUSIYAN

A) When you receive your salary...you will begin eating chicken, When the salary begin declining to eat chicken products (eggs) when it continues ending up you eat chicken food( millet, maize).After the whole salary finish you now become chicken itself…moving around looking for what to eat..

B.) Some girls are funny, they will tell a guy that “it’s over between us” when the guy says okay, she will be like “just like that?” what were you expecting my sister?? A closing ceremony?

C.) You keep asking every girl on Facebook for their contact….my brother, do 
you register SIM cards??

D.) I hate when someone wake me up early morning which happens to be the time that i do enjoy my sleep and says ''wake up boy, it's morning, sun is out!''...so? What am i supposed to do?, photosynthesis?

E)  Ladies if your Ex text you and say “I still love you and i want you back"
My sister just reply "i don't do part 2's I’m not a Nigerian movie"

F.) Data is so expensive in Africa, you sleep with your data on 1.7 GB you wake up in the morning with 100MB...it’s like your dreams were Online.

G.) A man fainted in front of KFC yesterday morning. People rushed to him and someone said 'bring some water and pour it out on him'. The man opened his eyes and replied" if I needed water, I would have fainted in front of Water Company". Look at where I fainted from and do the right thing.

H.) Bleaching your skin still u shine brighter is not a problem, but the problem is having White face, Yellow hands, Chocolate lips and Black legs. My sister, Are you a Zebra or Hyena?

J.) Girls that look like Rihanna on Facebook, Beyonce on Twitter, Nicki Minaj on Instagram and Zuma in real life should be arrested for misleading the public.
L) Have you heard of a journalist who wrote RIP MUGABE in Zimbabwe's national newspaper?. I ordered him to be arrested, taken to court & asked to defend himself.....Then he said R.I.P stands for *"Remain In Power."* Case closedDescription: https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v7/fd0/1/16/1f602.png😂Description: https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v7/fd0/1/16/1f602.png😂

M) When two girls are walking Description: https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v7/f92/1/16/1f6b6_200d_2642.png🚶 and you want the pretty one, don't call her direct, else the ugly one will pull her and tell you they are in a hurry... Call the ugly, tell her she's beautiful, after she's done smiling and say thank you Description: https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v7/f7f/1/16/1f60a.png😊, you then ask her to call you her friend. Description: https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v7/fd0/1/16/1f602.png😂Description: https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v7/fd0/1/16/1f602.png😂Description: https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v7/fd0/1/16/1f602.png😂Description: https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v7/fd0/1/16/1f602.png😂Description: https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v7/fd0/1/16/1f602.png😂

N) I was in the public toilets and had just sat down, a voice from the next cubicle said “Hi!, how are you?”
Embarrassed, I said, “I’m doing fine”.
The voice said “So what are you up to?”.
I said, “Just doing the same as you, sitting here!”.
From next door, “Can I come over?”.
Annoyed, I said, “rather busy right now”.
The voice said, “Listen, i will have to call you back, there’s an idiot next door answering all my questions”.

O) luck is when you are in Church seated with your landlord and then the pastor says tell your neighbor that Jesus has already paid my debt

P) In Japan a 17yr old is a doctor
_In Brasil a 17yr old is a footballer
_In India a 17yr old is a shop owner
_In China a 17yr old is an engineer
_In Iraq a 17yr old is a Soldier
_In USA a 17yr old is a celebrity

_In Israel a 17 yr old is a priest
_In Africa a 25yr old is awhatsapp group admin

Q) There is no record of a female Angel in the bible..... Ladies, if any guy calls you Angel, trust me He's a false prophet

R) Dear guys
If you are sittin next to a beautiful lady in a taxi and she starts smiling at you. My brother don't smile back i repeat don't smile back untill she pays her taxi fare, January is tough .

S) Text your girl all day she's gonna think it's cute and all but really... the goal is to kill her battery so she can't text other guys 

T) You can identify a girl who is a virgin by the way she urinates. If she urinates and the sound goes like Tiziiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii know she is virgin. But if she urinates like Shwaaaaaaaaaaa as if you have switched on bathroom showers, My brother I have a story to tell you!

U) If you are in a relationship with a lady and she tells you she is keeping her body for her future husband. Don't worry my brother just tell her that you are also saving your money for your future wife.

V) I don't know the spirit that comes with bottled water, Whenever a black man buys it, he starts behaving like he is the richest man in the community.
















OKEIGBO DAY OF YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW


Tolu’ Elusiyan (elusiyantolulope@gmail.com)

We thank the lord for making it possible for us to gather together this day as one family to reflect and deliberate about things that has to do with our community development and sustainable growth. May the name of the lord be blessed now and forever! We equally appreciate the brains behind this gathering, for bestowing on us this great honour to come render this very important discourse that has been sinking under the heavy yoke of illusion. On behalf of NAOSITES, we say thank you to our fathers, mothers and everyone. God bless you all! Okeigbo oni baje o. Amin.

In his article “Okeigbo Community” Kehinde Ademeso, described Okeigbo as a land of warriors. Also In the historical trajectory of our dear Okeigbo kingdom, we were made to understand that, Okeigbo was firmly established by Derin ologbenla and Kugbayigbe who were leading chiefs of their comrades. They were renowned warriors during inter-tribal warfare which ranged fiercely in the Yoruba kingdom in those days. History expresses that after conquering Egba Agbehi, Derin became Balogun under Maye when Ibadan was founded after maye was overthrown in revolt organized by the Oyos and Egbas. Based on this, Derin left Ibadan for ile ife.

He built a strong army composed of stalwarts whose stock in trade was to carry out war expeditions in aid of those who were being unjustly attacked and were weak. His first war expedition was to aid Ijesa against their Oyo enemies. Derin’s method of fighting war was so unique that whenever he got to the war front, he would invoke charm and become invisible to his enemies and began to apply his sword in such a miraculous way that people began to see heads and bodies in hundreds lying on the ground and blood flowing like water in the streets without seeing the people applying the cuts.

As a result of this, so many community leaders invited him to help them in fighting their enemies; because of his various victories in wars, his army decided to found a town in memory of their conquest and close to the present Okeigbo site where they first pass the night. They named the new settlement Okeigbo! that is (a hill in the bush). It was here Derin Ologbenla became famous throughout Yoruba-land, due to the influence Derin wielded in those days, many other immigrants from various places such as Abeokuta, Ijebu, Ifewara, Ilesa, Ofa and many other towns too (numerous to mention) came to settle in Oke-igbo.

In furtherance, Okeigbo people are essentially ife in customs and traditions, the grouping of okeigbo with Ondo province at the beginning was for administrative convenience of the British Government who would not want their district officer to travel the distance from Ife to Okeigbo, about 30miles away when one was stationed at Ondo 10miles away. The people of Okeigbo then were farmers, prosperous ones at that, the largest producers of cocoa in ondo province. Okeigbo-Ondo road was built in 1916-1919 and later 1950s Ife-Okeigbo road was constructed. Okeigbo that was a cosmopolitan town was divided, one part moved to present Osun State, Ifetedo, just a stone throw to Okeigbo and now the headquarters of Ife South Local Government Council.

Christianity was introduced in the area in 1878 and the first primary school was established in 1880. Education is the major industry of the people of Okeigbo and many sons and daughters of Okeigbo are occupying coveted positions in the civil service, educational institutions and are today captains of industries. The first grammar school was established in 1957, the district is large, and there are more than eight towns, villages and hamlets. Okeigbo host the popular evil forest called Igbo-olodumare where there are wild and dangerous snails with human head and tortoise that was bigger than human being, said by the renowned writer, D.O Fagunwa, the author of the evergreen and evercolourful book known as Igbo Olodumare. Their culture is not different from that of Ile-Ife, their Language, mode of dressing and tradition are similar to that of ile-ife.

It is very sad to say, that Okeigbo today has become a cinema of clowns. Every new week has a drama that occupies, engages and sustains all of us till the end of the week. These dramas as if they have been recorded and kept in a hard drive are played in such a manner that even though they are serious issues, we all end up laughing about them and making them sources of entertainment. Burning issues which should be frowned at or dismissed are so painted stupidly that they are withdrawn from the category of sensible matter then turned into laughable skits and clips for the public. Meanwhile the community itself is daily losing its soul and driving itself to a point of no return. The stories that flood our ears, timelines and whatsapps astound us greatly that we think we have collectively become a generation of idiots. We ask ourselves many questions that are not really rhetorical but of which I cannot even present sensible answers to them. There are actually no answers anywhere, a one-of-kind situation where everybody is grouping in darkness. Such a thick darkness that it appears there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

Where should we start from? Should we start from the engagement of our youths in vices and worrisome practices, and those of our leaders who swims in the massive ocean of corruption, with all the shady ministerial lies, photo-shopped pictures, discordant reports, and dishonest updates from supposedly trusted authorities, inconclusive statements, and conspiratorial meetings, congregation of cliquish cabals, Quarters threatening statements and undiplomatic utterances? how on earth, there will be a community without king, obviously we have ranked ourselves so high but basically because of the absence of unity and understanding, we have continue to wallow in the journey of no end, fingering through a thousand creeds. When are we going to have a leader? Beloved, we need a king?
What is my concern in all of these? My uttermost concern is not even for the present time which is already swallowed in atrocities, crises and decay. The dirt is so thick; the dung is so deep and smelly that we cannot even see what we are scraping off. My fear is for the future which is obviously desolate. I am so afraid that the future will be worse than what we are experiencing today. The youths and children, the supposed leaders of tomorrow are being bred into these muddy cultures and traditions. And what they have even started doing…..only God will save us. If Okeigbo continues like this, the future is not bright! Tell me, which of the youths will get in power today and would not steal as his forefathers did? Even children in the womb are already infested and infected. And what do we even see? The children of these thieves are the ones succeeding their fathers-Yoruba people will say: Omo ekun l’ekun jo- the cub must resemble his father, the lion. What hope then do we have for our future? What actually is the cause for this succession of evils?

The fear that things are going to be terribly messy is truly imminent because our country is void of mentors. There are no leaders, icons and mentors the youths can look up to. A society heading for ruin. In other words, when there is no mentorship, there can never be a credible future. The society is created in such a successive pattern for its continuity. The continuity of excellence is in the fact that there are people who tried to be excellent and others after them emulate such excellent virtue. However, in our dear country, there is little or nothing virtuous our children are emulating. It is mostly about the celebration of thieves, rogues, mediocrity and lack of conscience. This is where our collective concern should be.

In the past, we talked about D.O Fagunwa, Obafemi Awolowo, Derin  Ologbenla and the rest, these men lived not perfect lives but left some legacies that others can talk about and emulate, we now even study them in history in higher institutions for the perpetuation of their legacies. In this our dispensation, who are we talking about? Who is leaving any legacy? What legacies are we celebrating? Legacies in stealing? Or in bad politics? Or legacies in unpatriotic proclivities? What exactly is this generation leaving behind for the future? These are the questions we should continue to ponder upon. But I must strongly say my dear people, that we should be proud of our community; we should do something great to make it comfortable for her citizens; because, if we really understand the meaning of a community, we would die not of fright but of love, because we are like one family. In his Article:2016 titled “Okeigbo people and Culture” Tolulope Elusiyan made us to understand that “we are Okeigbo people not because we were born and brought up in Okeigbo, but we are Okeigbo people because Okeigbo was born in us”, we must all allow Okeigbo to be re-born in us and be renewed totally in love and unity.

My submission is this; we need an internal revolution among the youths. This is an open letter, if you like, to all youths. Our leaders have eaten sour grapes; our mouths should not suffer its pangs. Youths must occasion an internal revolution among themselves to revive the soul of this Okeigbo community. Recently, I spoke with a number of youths individually and I saw that the future is not all together blind and bleak if we can collectively do mental-attitudinal revolution among the youths. At every level, in every group, at every association, there must be an ideological, psychological, emotional and spiritual baptism. After all, it is not as if we do not know that our fathers have failed woefully, we know! Then, we need that revolution from inside and take back this community these wolves. We must create mentors, we must change things, and we must save our community. It is our responsibilities, it is our calls, and it is our works! Together let us save Okeigbo kingdom before she dies, let us save our dear community. (Song) Okeigbo yii ti gbogbo wani, koma bodo baje, tori kosi bomiran, ti ale lo, ajo ole dabi ile, eje ka so wop o………………………..

THE SACRAMENTOF RECONCILIATION: THE MEETING POINT OF MERCY AND MISERY

 Tolu’ Elusiyan
It is obviously the will of God that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (I Tim.2:4), who in many times and various ways spoke of old to the fathers through the prophets (Heb. 1:1), for he wishes to give eternal life to all those who seek salvation by patience in well doing. In his own time God called Abraham, and made him into a great nation. After the era of the patriarchs, he taught this nation, by Moses and the prophets, to recognize him as the only living and true God, as a provident father and just judge. He taught them, too, to look for the promised savior. And so, throughout the ages, he prepared the way for the gospel. When the fullness of time had come, God sent his son, the word made flesh, anointed by the Holy Spirit, to preach the gospel to the poor, to heal the contrite of heart, to be a bodily and spiritual medicine: the mediator between God and man. For his humanity united with the person of the word was the instrument of our salvation. Therefore, in Christ the perfect achievement of our reconciliation came forth.

Right from time, God is love, this love continues to manifests through the ages; God continually uplift man from his predicament, through his journey with Abraham our father in the faith and the effect of God’s action, saving the people of Israel. Man is constantly running away from God while God out of his immense love for man is always giving man a new room to come back to him.
It is this same love he has for man that made him to send his only begotten son (Jesus Christ) so that we can all be saved. This begotten son of the father instituted the sacrament of reconciliation for all the sinful members of the body, the church (ccc.1446).  Above all, for those who since baptism, have fallen into grave sin, and have thus lost their baptismal grace and wounded ecclesial communion. It is to them that the sacrament of reconciliation offers a new possibility to convert and to recover the grace of justification.

Moreover, during the public ministry of our lord Jesus Christ, we are not oblivious of the fact that he not only forgave sins, but equally made plain the effect of this forgiveness, he reintegrated forgiven sinners into the community of the people of God from which sin had alienated or even excluded them. A remarkable sign of this is the fact that Jesus receives sinners at his table, a gesture that expresses in an astonishing way both God’s forgiveness and the return to the bosom of the people of God (ccc1444). In imparting to his apostles his own power to forgive sins, the lord also gives them the authority to reconcile sinners with the church.

This ecclesial dimension of their task is expressed most notably in Christ’s solemn words to Simon peter: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” the office of binding and loosing which was given to peter was also assigned to the college of the apostles united to its head. So man must now approach God in the sacrament of reconciliation, for the love of God endures forever.

So the sacrament of reconciliation automatically becomes that arena  where man can see the merciful face of the father, even though it is an action of God, he is the one who allows the flow of his mercy, he does not benefit from this action, it is man who enjoys the fullness of this action.
Furthermore, since the fall of our first parents, temptation plagues us at every turn. We are prone to become slaves to our appetites. We are constantly challenged by the difficulty of seeing through a glass darkly. We are in conflict, strife and turmoil with one another spanning across the countless centuries into times long forgotten. Yes, misery is a single word that captures the essence of man’s experience in this life on earth, and even though modern man strives to conquer nature by technological means, the tears still flow.

But God’s immeasurable mercy and love is always there. After all he made us in his image and likeness. Our clearest and most profound look at his love is in Christ on the cross, that unimaginable self-emptying carried out before his passion. He endured degrading torture and insult for our sake. He is the source of all life and the end of all things. He is the alpha and omega. We come from dust gifted life by his abundance and we are offered a return to his loving embrace at the end of all time for an eternity of heaven. If that’s not love, then what is it?

The entire puzzle of human existence can be surveyed in the strain between these two extreme positions of man’s misery and God’s vast mercy and love for us. The gap between the two is an incredibly immense space where man asks all his seemingly unanswerable questions about the nature of human existence, our purpose in life, human suffering and about our final ends.
Philosophers and scholars have been positing solutions to the problems that arise concerning the reconciliation of man’s obvious misery and the omniscient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent creator’s boundless love for us. Nothing wholly satisfying has been discovered by the light of man’s mind on these matters. The only real answer that bridges the gap between these two extremes is found in the second person of the trinity, Christ Jesus, our savior who instituted the sacrament of reconciliation and as such handed this over to the church so that man can continue to obtain the mercy of God.

So, for the fear that the church might be like sheep without a shepherd, Christ in his wisdom also instituted the priesthood, so that priest can continue the mission of salvation, so a priest is another Christ who automatically becomes the intermediary between God and man, and as such he stays at the confessional, where man approach God with his misery in other to obtain the mercy of God. Because the tension between the two extremes can be illuminated by God’s infinite mercy. So in the fullest expression of the divine economy concerning salvation history, God’s profound mercy is the key to interpreting what appears to be cruel suffering or misery and illuminates it as redemptive. So the fullness of this mercy is enjoyed at the sacrament of reconciliation, when man is largely waged with his misery, but then, the mercy of God is always ready to wash away man’s misery, so man must always meet God through the sacrament of reconciliation for the mercy of God is unlimited and it over flows.


ELUSIYAN TOLU’ FRANCIS

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

PRAYING FOR THE SICK


Rev. Fr. Augustine Deji Dada
One of the glories of our catholic tradition is the many institutions founded over the centuries to care for the sick. Heroic women and men have dedicated their entire lives to caring for the sick and elderly, and it may be that God is calling you to such a vocation. Our lord Jesus Christ ministered to the sick by healing peter’s mother-in-law (Mk 1:30-31) and many who were ill (Mk 1:34). While we are often unsure whether God wills to heal miraculously or by conventional means, we are sure that he wants us to care for the sick as a primary way to love Him and the brethren(Mt 25:36, 40).

The apostle James also tells the sick to call for the elders of the church to pray over them (Js 5:14) and Christians are also exhorted to pray for one another so that they may be healed (Js 5:16). So it is clear that Christians are exhorted to take care of the sick and to pray for healing. However, we find that we are constantly busy, we juggle with demands, pressures and deadlines which cry out for our attention endlessly every day. We try to squeeze into our daily schedules, time for God, family, work, studies and a myriad of other things. We simply find that we have no time and this tension leads us to the neglect of certain essential responsibilities in the Christian life. One of these is taking care of each other which include praying for the sick within our church. Praying for the sick is a spiritual exercise that has to do with mercy. Illness isolates people, and visits and prayers remind them that they are not alone.

What can we do to keep this aspect of our God-ordained ministry alive given our lack of time? Some of us think that we can employ others to do the job for us. However, we need to realize that this is a Christian responsibility which is part of our calling as disciples. We need to be honest with ourselves and God: are we really that busy or can we give the needy some time by spending less time on our hobbies, fun or leisure?

Perhaps we do not really like to do such things like taking care of the sick, even if it may be our own relatives, not to say someone else in the church. Perhaps we find it difficult to pray for a sick because we don’t like to deal with worrisome issues. We must remember that Jesus did not hesitate to get involved with needy people. He put others’ needs ahead of himself. (Mk 6:60-34)
May I suggest some ways to develop a compassionate heart: ask God to make you sensitive to needy people. Befriend and pray for them. Encourage them regularly. Attend monthly prayer meetings when we pray for needy folk. Join the church visitation team. Carry each other’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ (Ga 6:2)


We are told in the book of sirach: “do not shrink from visiting a sick person, because for such deeds you will be loved” (sir 7:35). The Good Samaritan gave the unfortunate man soothing medicine, and discerning care for others is Christ’s prescription, too. So it is our duty to always care for the sick and most importantly pray for them.

Saturday, September 2, 2017

MACHIAVELLI'S DICTATORSHIP AND THE CHALLENGE OF LEADERSHIP IN AFRICA


TOLU' ELUSIYAN FRANCIS

4.0       INTRODUCTION
The African continent, being a mixture of various micro-nations, has repeatedly suffered from the plague of inefficient leadership. This is clearly evident in the out-right relegation of morality in political parlance, that is, the mockery of justice in judicial sphere, lack of honesty, integrity, transparency and accountability, amongst others, on the path of incalculable political leaders. Against the above, we can talk of the problematic nature of leadership in Africa as a project actualization and expression of the thoughts of the fifteenth (15th) century Italian scholar, Niccolo Machiavelli, who by means of The Prince advocated that a dictatorial and immoral approach be employed by politicians, if they desire to record success in their political pursuit; and this is quite evident in Africa. This being the case, it becomes pertinent that we cogitate on the Machiavellian dictatorship vis-à-vis the challenge of leadership in Africa.
4.1       A CRITIQUE OF MACHIAVELLI’S POLITICAL THOUGHT
As a matter of fact, the major pre-occupation of Machiavelli is how states should be run and not how morals are to be followed. Thus, Kant’s categorical imperative brands Machiavelli’s political thoughts as unethical because, it relies on the need to preserve political power at all means or cost. The Kantian principle plays role on goodwill.[1] For him, the idea that politics necessitates the consolidation and preservation of power by all means is inhuman and unethical. Human beings are not to be used as means to an end, but rather to be seen as ends in themselves. Using the golden rule, treat others as you want others to treat you, Kant is in conflict with the Machiavellian strategy of using human beings as an instrument to achieve political power.[2] So Machiavelli should not be taken seriously.
Martin Buber, well known for his philosophy of dialogue, adds more power and analysis grease to Kant’s position. He was of the position that human relationships should not be based on the “I and It” concept but on the “I and It” entails the other being used or related to as a mere thing instead of as a person to be met (“I and Thou”). While the “I and It” is a subject-object relationship whereby one uses others as means to an end, the “I and Thou” is characterized by mutuality, real presence, respect, wholeness and humanness. The “I and It” is subjective and lacks mutuality.[3] Hence, Buber posited that the “I and Thou” relationship is supposed to be the genuine relationship among human beings. Machiavelli’s ideas, he said, are based on the “I and It” relationship which is alien to humanity and brings about dehumanization. All the evils in the world results from this relationship. For him, Machiavelli’s doctrines of dictatorship style of leadership, separates morality from politics which will result to chaos, disaster and more than anything else, the destruction of the universe;[4]and as such must not be taken seriously.
Furthermore, Machiavelli’s error is in his starting point, his premise. If the premise of an argument is erroneous, the argument is bound to end up in an erroneous conclusion. His fundamental error lies in his absolutazation of power, which he erroneously considers as the ultimate goal of politics. The ultimate goal of politics is not grabbing of power but the rendering of service to the people. That is, leaders should see the acquisition of power as a platform and paradigm to render service to the people and not for self-interesting or favouratism.
His other error (a serious error) is his view that the end justifies the means that one can justifiably use an immoral means to bring about a good end. This is morally unacceptable; the end does not justify the means. A good end does not justify an immoral means used in bringing it about.[5] Pull out morality from democracy, then so end the mortal life of democracy, because democracy presupposes morality, honesty, fairness, peaceful and decent behaviour, openness of mind, and readiness to step down when one loses. And not like Machiavelli’s idea of dictatorship, the gaining of power through every possibility, foul or fair. To this effect, Machiavelli’s idea of dictatorship, which is likening to his notorious position of the end justifies the means should be committed to flame for it is an idea that has brought a lot of predicaments to the political world.
4.2       LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE IN AFRICA
For many, especially our literary giants, the problem of Africa is fundamentally a problem of bad leadership. This problem is a thorn on the flesh of the continent, as it is complex and delicate. But one wonders why a continent as endowed as Africa should be going through such an invincible problem. It should be quickly stated that the problem of leadership is not peculiarly African, it is a human problem promoted by cultural worldviews.[6]The histories of human societies have revealed that quality leadership is very crucial in the task of nation building. Many thinkers, right from antiquity, have argued in support of the notion that there exist a nexus between leadership and the progress of any nation. While Plato maintained that “the wellbeing of a state depends on the knowledge and character of its rulers”[7], Aristotle, on the other hand, argued that “the ability of the state to produce the good life for which it exists is made possible by the behaviours of its rulers in terms of virtue.”[8]
Moreover, evidence has shown that Major parts of Africa are buried in morass of predicaments ranging from socio-political, economic and cultural to moral inadequacies, which stultify its integral development. While morality and virtue are being exiled from our political enclave; injustice, corruption, violence and all form of maladies, on the other hand, have characterized our politics, where there seemsto be an enthronement of Machiavelism (a political theory built and developed on Niccolo Machiavelli’s ideology).
From all indications, politics in Africa has generally followed the line of Machiavelli’s dictatorship of separating politics from morality and of grabbing political power by all means. One is made to believe that politics and morality do not go together; that once a person starts playing politics, he must embrace dictatorial style and ignore morality. Thus, we often hear it said that “politics is a dirty game”, meaning that by its very nature politics involves the use of immoral means. Hence, African politicians have followed Machiavelli’s dictatorship by removing morality from politics and in thinking that the best way to be successful in politics is to use immoral means and be a dictator. They have also believed erroneously with Machiavelli that the ultimate goal in politics is to grab political power by all means. They have also subscribed to his view that a good end justifies an evil means, that there is nothing wrong in using immoral means to grab political power. Machiavelli never put all these principles into practice because he was not a politician. Thus, it is not surprising that African politicians both civilian and military have used such immoral means like murder, assassination, fraudulence, rigging among others to gain political power or to retain it. They have done these things without bad feeling of conscience, believing that “politics is a dirty game” by its very nature, and that such things have to be done in politics.
From the foregoing, the question that comes to mind is: what has been the product of Machiavelli’s dictatorship principles? As a matter of fact the answer is quiet obvious, the product has been corruption, self-centeredness, favoritism, tribalism, and the likes; which presupposes the loss of morality in African politics.[9] Morality, having been removed from politics, honesty and accountability were thrown out with it. What has been the result? The result has been that, our governments have been made up of national treasury looters; men who came to politics primarily, or even solely, to enrich themselves by looting the national treasury without qualm of conscience.[10] When honesty and public accountability are removed along with morality from politics, we then have gangs of thieves in government, each with the key to the national treasury.
In addition, it would be of interest to know that Africa is a continent that is richly endowed with natural and human resources. Yet, the major parts of Africa are beggar-countries today, with a huge and crushing debt while ironically African billionaires and even multi-billionaires abound everywhere. As the continent of Africa acquires more money through the sales of her resources, the money goes into private accounts of the leaders and some sets of citizens who have link with them and as such Africa gets poorer while her citizens get richer. So long as morality continues to be removed from politics and politics continues to be seen as the surest and quickest way to become a rich person, there is no hope, at least in the foreseeable  future, unless something drastic happens, like faithfully adhering to the democratic style of leadership. Moreover, “The step taken by some of the African leaders between (1985-1993) to exclude old and corrupt politicians from politics was courageous and commendable. But it was inadequate to ensure a corrupt-free politics because there was no guarantee that the new-breed politicians who were coming to the scene were not coming primarily to amass wealth for themselves as their fathers did”[11].Hence, the only solution is to neglect Machiavellian dictatorial style of leadership by bringing morality back into politics and take very stringent measures to check corruption by government officials.
4.5       CONCLUSION
From the foregoing, it is quite obvious that the fundamental problem of Africa is the problem of leadership. And looking into the history of politics in Africa, particularly Nigeria, one would see that even though sometimes when we practice democratic style of leadership, there seems to be some traces of dictatorial style of leadership. In fact, in the political activities of African continent, it has lost morality and virtue, and that is more reason it is not making progress. We have replaced what is good with what our leaders think is good (but bad), we have followed the political idea of Machiavelli and as such, our leaders seek personal favour, luxury, security and comfort for themselves, which is clearly evident, ranging from discrimination, partiality, selfishness, misuse of public resources and the likes. However, for us to make progress, we must be ready to hold on to morality and virtue in our political activities as against dictatorial leadership style.















[1]Immanuel Kant, The Categorical Imperative in Warurton Nigel, Philosophy: The Class (London: Routledge Publisher, 2005), p. 216
[2]Warurton Nigel, Philosophy: The Class,(London: Routledge Publisher, 2005),p.217          
[3]Martin Burber, Between Man and Man, Translated by Ronald Gregory (London: FountaniaLiberary, 1947),p.246
[4]Martin Burber, Between Man and Man, Translated by Ronald Gregory (London: FountaniaLiberary, 1947),p.247
[5]Joseph Omoregbe, Social-Political Philosophy And International Relations,pp.143-144
[6]Patrick Onojake, “Rethinking Religion And Leadership In Nigeria”, in Israel Inaede(ed), The Word of God AndSocial Justice In Africa: The Voice Magazine, (Ibadan: A Publication of Saints.Peter And Paul Major Seminary,2012),p.37
[7]Plato, The Republic, Translated by Benjamin Jowett, (New-York: William Benton Publisher, 1952),p.369
[8]Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Translated by Martin Ostwald,(New York: Macmillian Publishing Company,1962),p.265
[9]NiyiOsundare, Dialogue with my Country (Ibadan: Bookcraft Publication, 2011), p. 246
[10]John Campbell, Nigeria Dancing On The Brink (Ibadan: Bookcraft Publication, 2010), p. 13
[11]Joseph Omoregbe, Social Political Philosophy and International Relations: A systematic and Historical study,(Lagos: Joja’s Publication, 2007), p. 147