ETHICAL REPOSITIONING OF LOYALTY IN NIGERIAN POLITICS: TOWARDS ELIMINATION OF KAKISTOCRACY

Abstract

Man is naturally a social animal and consequent upon this fact he lives in community and is thus guided by ethical principles that direct his conduct towards living a better life. Since he lives in a society there comes the obvious need of electing leaders that will be piloting the affairs of the community so as not to relapse into anarchy. Such election being a human exercise has equally to be guided by moral principles which will ensure that leaders with impeccable character and moral probity are voted in mindless of political loyalty and affiliation. Therefore, the welfare of the State has to be the guiding force. Only in this way can government by the worst (kakistocracy) be thrown overboard. This research aims establishing the necessity of graduating to meta-politics that places high premium on seeking for candidates with the political correctness that benefits everyone regardless of political, religious, ethnic affiliation. The researcher will employ descriptive methodology to expose the necessity of injecting ethical principles in the political process. Through the analytic approach the research will explore into the moral recklessness involved in political process. Based on that, metapolitics will be recommended as a way forward because it transcends the ordinariness of political engagement. In the end, the researcher will emphasize on the importance of seeing beyond mere political loyalty and thus repositioning it on the foundation of rationality rather than self-interest.