TOWARDS A VIRILE DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEMOCRACY IN AFRICA, THE AFRICAN MAN’S UNDYING HOPE: A PHILOSOPHICAL ASSESSMENT

Abstract

Before the exploration of African land by the Portuguese in the 1400s, Africans had been in tremendous yearning and hope for genuine development, and to date they still yearn and live in hope for its realization. In the United Nations’ world sustainable development goals (SDGs) 2030 agenda or expectations, one sees that currently, most African nations have not achieved even one goal out of the 17 sustainable goals. Africans, nevertheless, continue to hope for better days, and the African communal and communitarian spirit continues to sustain Africans in its march towards the achievement of the SDGs. Within the context of this paper, Nigeria, since its independence to date, has been struggling for economic emancipation and development through successive political regimes. Not minding the fact that Nigeria has had 25 years of unbroken democratic governance, genuine democratic leadership has been elusive, and its citizens are yet to enjoy core democratic dividends and significant economic development. Today, citizens continue to wallow in hard economic recession and abject poverty amid plenty of wealth, despite the country’s rich human and natural resources. Thus, the recurring fundamental question is why efforts to fix Nigeria’s underdevelopment have failed all means adopted so far? Added to this is the fear that the new democratic culture appears to have lost its flare, especially with the current web of partisan politics. One, therefore, is challenged to ask if honest politics, true democracy, and leadership are still possible in Africa and Nigeria. Using philosophical analysis, we look critically at the African/Nigerian economy and democratic governance, in order to see the root cause of its degeneracy or debasement and proffer solutions for a better Africa and Nigeria.