Nigeria is a former colony of Britain and it became an independent state in October 1st 1960. At Independence the country adopted the British parliamentary system and Tafawa Balewa became its first and only Prime Minister. The first republic which started in 1963 collapse on the 15th of January 1966 through a military coup de tat. From this period Nigeria was under military regime until 1979 which signifies the inception of the second republic.After series of military rule and aborted third republic , the country ushered in the fourth republic in 1999. Since the inception of the republic, the political system has been characterised by high level of political violence and minimal political and economic development. The pathetic aspect of the Nigerian democracy which is the major focus of this article is the character and nature of our law makers. In any modern and civilised society, the essence of law is to bring about stability in human society and to this purpose law makers are expected to be people of high integrity. This is one of the reason why they are been refer to as ''Honourable or Distinguished Senator. By the nature of their work, they are expected to always show the good virtues that a leader is supposed to possess.
According to Plato , political leaders are suppose to be what he called ''Philosopher Kings". This are people who must be highly logical and they must have nothing to do with material wealth as it is seen as something that can make them to become immoral. While Plato's idea may be too ideal, the lesson we can deduce from this is that political office holders should be capable of high level of logicality and their actions must be something that will serve public interest and not oligarchy interest. In Nigeria today since the inception of the first republic our politicians have acquired a feature which can actually make it difficult for any political observer to differentiate between them and the regular motor park touts. Importantly, once their is any serious disagreement on the floor of the house, the usual practice of our law makers is to turn the chamber into a boxing ring or a wrestling arena. This attitude is so barbaric and unfit for any civilised human being , not to even talk of elected law makers who are suppose to represent the interest of their people. This prevalent and incessant acts among our politicians is very embarrassing and it gives a wrong signal to the younger generations , as well as bad image among committee of nations. Despite the fact that conflict is an essential part of politics, political disagreement does not need to be settled by violence. We are humans and not animals , so we should be able to conduct our activities in a civilised manner. Since our law makers are now celebrated and well decorated touts, the youths also are subscribing to their practices. That is why our democracy today has become gorilla's play. It is essentially survival of the fittest or power struggle game,and governance no longer serves the interest of the people.
According to Plato , political leaders are suppose to be what he called ''Philosopher Kings". This are people who must be highly logical and they must have nothing to do with material wealth as it is seen as something that can make them to become immoral. While Plato's idea may be too ideal, the lesson we can deduce from this is that political office holders should be capable of high level of logicality and their actions must be something that will serve public interest and not oligarchy interest. In Nigeria today since the inception of the first republic our politicians have acquired a feature which can actually make it difficult for any political observer to differentiate between them and the regular motor park touts. Importantly, once their is any serious disagreement on the floor of the house, the usual practice of our law makers is to turn the chamber into a boxing ring or a wrestling arena. This attitude is so barbaric and unfit for any civilised human being , not to even talk of elected law makers who are suppose to represent the interest of their people. This prevalent and incessant acts among our politicians is very embarrassing and it gives a wrong signal to the younger generations , as well as bad image among committee of nations. Despite the fact that conflict is an essential part of politics, political disagreement does not need to be settled by violence. We are humans and not animals , so we should be able to conduct our activities in a civilised manner. Since our law makers are now celebrated and well decorated touts, the youths also are subscribing to their practices. That is why our democracy today has become gorilla's play. It is essentially survival of the fittest or power struggle game,and governance no longer serves the interest of the people.
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