Evaluation of Machiavelli Prince, Elite Activities and Their Influence on Policy Process in Nigeria's Fourth Republic

Abstract

For more than six decades, the Nigerian basket of achievements has not recorded an appreciable outcome. This is despite its unparalleled endowment in human capital and mineral resources. This work posits that Machiavellianism which champions the cause of political expediency above morality and the use of deceit or manipulation in statecraft is at the centre of the problem. Adopting secondary data and content analysis as methods of data collection and analysis, the study observed that over the years, the glorification of deception, craft and shrewdness as essential tools in the governance of a state has had a direct negative bearing on the Nigerian state thereby making the virtuous pursuit of the common good unrealizable. It was discovered that due to the excessive craze for political power and its retention at all costs, Nigerian politician stops at nothing including engaging in all kinds of impunity to see this desired goal realized. This has made decent leadership in Nigeria very elusive while the triumph of desperation is the order of the day. In the final submission, the study concludes that since philosophy seeks the ideal always, politics in Nigeria should be seen as that which provides the best of ends and not as a "do or die" affair and a means of exploitation of the commonwealth. It therefore recommends the strengthening of the spread of the philosophic life, deepening of Nigeria's civic education curriculum, sensitization of the people and moral regeneration as panaceas for the growth of democratic values and good governance in Nigeria.