A PHILOSOPHICAL INTERROGATION OF LEADERSHIP, DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY OF EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The world will know no peace or escape corruption unless it revisits Plato’s popular dictum, “until philosophers are kings, or the kings and princes of this world have the spirit and power of philosophy, and political greatness and wisdom meet in one, and those commoner natures who purse either to the exclusion of the other are compelled to stand aside, cities will never have rest from their evils.” Human development and civilisation are best described by human conception of reality and purpose of life. This shapes humans’ behaviour and handling of material wealth. The mind houses human perception about reality and plays a significant role in its development, without curing it, no nation can escape corruption. Since the engine room of philosophy is the human mind, it has the responsibility of stimulating morals and breeding leadership to advance economic and environmental development through its tools of ethics and critical thinking. It is within this parameter that this paper interrogates philosophy as a way of resolving the problem of poor leadership, corruption and environmental sustainability within the space of extractive industries in Nigeria. This paper adopts conceptual and analytic approach to show the continued relevance of philosophy to national development. The paper concludes that without repositioning philosophy in its right perspective, the scourge of high-profile corruption of state actors in the mineral exploration industries in most African countries may become very difficult.