THE CIVIL STATE IN JOHN LOCKE'S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND ITS RELEVANCE TO DEMOCRATIC PRACTICE IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Throughout the history of philosophy, there has been a quest for a better way of organizing the society for the benet of its citizens. For Locke, the function and sole reason for civil state is to protect the people, that is, their lives, liberty and property. This work examined the concept of civil state in John Locke's political philosophy and its relevance to democratic practice in Nigeria. The work made use of qualitative research tools as data were derived from primary and secondary sources – books, journal articles, periodicals and the internet. The historical, expository and evaluative methods were employed. The historical method traced the evolutionary development of the notion of civil society; beginning from the ancient period. The expository method presented Locke's idea of civil state while the evaluative method demonstrated the necessity of his thoughts in addressing the challenges facing Nigeria's democracy especially in the current dispensation. The study found out that in Nigeria democratic practice, political ofce holders are not being accountable to their deeds, are not transparent, they abuse public ofce, engage in corruption, infringe on the constitutional rights of the people. The paper therefore, concludes that there should be the entrenchment of the principles and practices of liberal democracy in the Nigerian system of government if any meaningful progress is to be made; as Locke proposed in his civil state.