AQUINO VOLUME 2 ISSUE 2 DECEMBER 2022 FOR PDF GOOD GOVERNANCE, PHILOSOPHY AND LEADERSHIP: A PROSPECTIVE TO AFRICAN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Mbachu A. Austin, (PhD) Department of Philosophy Imo State University Owerri, Imo State Abstract Philosophy is a discipline, central to every aspect of human existence. Whether Africa is compared with other continent or it is considered on its own, most of African countries are in a precarious state. This precarious state has made many scholars to be cynical about the contributions that philosophy has made tremendous efforts towards the development of the continent. The paper adopts analytic method to picture the persistence of African problems in terms of sustainable development. The present poor governance in African nations which gives rise to all manners of social ills is therefore not unconnected with the dislocation or disregard for philosophy in the practice of politics and exercise of governance. Africa is known to be lagging behind in terms of development not only in economy, development, education, politics, technology and science, etc. But, philosophy has attracted prospective changes towards the development of the Africa continent. In this study however, it is argued that such cynical attitude is due to a myopic conception of development. Philosophers should stand to perform better in policy formulations, implementations and governance in African nations. Further negligence of philosophical contributions and philosophers in the governance of African nations will continue to promote the existing culture of mediocrity that is the bane of African sustainable development. Keywords: Good Governance Philosophy, Leadership, African Sustainable, Development Introduction Africa is a continent of paradox, whereas God has endowed with human and natural resources, but the fact is that Africa remains backward and they poorest continent in the world. Thus, life and living in Africa have become controversy except the trend is reversed. Philosophy has examines the promotion of good governance and social development to ameliorate the burden of life and living in African. The African situation has been a concern for many thinkers and leaders in African as well as the topic of discouraged in many seminars, conferences, institution has emerged. Philosophy, as the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matter such as the nature of knowledge, truth, justice, politics, culture, economy, security, education, language among others. It is considered in most cases as philosophy is the mother of all sciences (Sciatica matrix) to use the words of Richard Taylor (1903) in other words philosophy helps to coordinate the various activities of the people and the kind of tools to used in various inquiries and disciplines. Recently African philosophers have tired to engage in similar philosophy task within the African society which made philosophy helps us to understand the significance of all human experience. 194 Philosophy critically evaluates and analysis the variety of human experience. The first generative of modern African philosopher, many of whom also happened to have been political thinkers, such as Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, Nelson Mandela, Obafemi Awolowo and Nnamdi Azikiwe etc. This seemed to have made noteworthy efforts in this regard. One of the noted facts about contemporary social science research in African is that its societies are invariably analyzed as being underdeveloped. Precisely, these political thinkers perceived philosophy as a troll capable of freeing the mind of the African people. The same is true of the new generation of African thinkers such as Kwasi, Wiredu, Odera Oruka, Kwame, Gyekye, Ocusegum, Ocadipo, Chinua Achebe and many others. However, it may be the case that there African philosopher used different medium to express their thoughts concerning development in Africa, but they laid emphasis on how these guests for development can be attempted in Africa. To avoid working with speculation, this paper examines how the reflections or physiological thinking of some of this African pathologist have contributed to the guests for African development. Beam of the reflection of some of this African physiology is to illustrate that physiology have refused to keep guilt over her histology and development seems to be general fading away or becoming exclusive. This paper adopts the philosophical method of critical diachronic analysis to examine the thought of specific Africans physiologies with particular reference to their contribution to Africa development in area such as politics, economies, and science, social and cultural well-being. The present poor governance in African nations which gives rise to all manners of social ills is therefore not unconnected with the dislocation or disregard for philosophy in the practice of politics and exercise of governance. The triumph of democracy in most Africa countries was viewed as panacea to poor governance bedeviling the continent to the contrary, democracy, as envisaged by Plato and Aristotle has fostered oligarchy, plutocracy, tyranny, predatory political parties and poor governance. Consequently, governance in many African nations is not of by or for the people, but by an organized clique, cabal, political jobbers, looters and robbery consortium that collaborate with imperialists and convert governance into breeding ground for unemployment, insecurity, hunger, hopelessness and instability (Odey, 2002). As such, governance in most African states have remained a futile exercise, lacking the form that propels growth of common good or commonwealth. With democracy, many African nations view mineral deposits as solutions to poor governance. This is in the sense that its prospects will boost governance and welfare of the citizenry. However, the prospects of these mineral deposits have lured touts, uneducated “never do well”, and mediocre into governance. Theses have dominated Africa states, creating instability and indulging in all forms of corruption as they advance their egoistic interests and those of their cronies. Thus, governance in most Africa nations is replete with “democratic” monarchs, tyrants and despots, who are also grossly characterized by ethnicism, tribalism, nepotism and persecution of rational opponents and intellectuals. This gives credence to the fact that mineral deposits without philosophic managers cannot translate to real wealth. However, this situation of poor management is exacerbated by support from western imperial powers, who take advantage of Africa leadership mediocrity to enrich their countries. Against this 195 Aquino Journal of Philosophy, Vol 2 Issue 2 2022-December ISSN: 2786-9792 despairing political situation therefore, is the need for philosophy and 'Philosopher Kings', who will ensure political firmners, objectively, logical and critical competence required for effective governance of the state. Such competence consists in critical identification, construction and evaluation of proposals, detection of inconsistencies and common mistakes in governance and healthy and balanced relevant ideas and public opinion. Concept of Development Development through the aid of philosophy can be understood to be an attempt to re- shape the African destiny in which they currently live and for the sake of future endeavors. Development generally is the process which gives every society high capacity to transform nature and its inter-human environment to meet the needs of man. To Nnoli in Ukpere and Ottoh (2012), development is a dialectical phenomenon in which man and society interact with their physical, biological and economic environments. This is reminiscent of what K.C. Anyanwu, has said concerning the impact that philosophy is having on development in Africa. The major reason the concept of development is considered in this regard is to establish how development has been used in physiology and rationally by the philosophers. Development from non-technological viewpoint is considered to be the process of change, the process of changing and becoming better, large stronger or more advanced; nevertheless, the question to be asked is better in what sense. If a society becomes better in terms of infrastructure but still has its citizens craving for better education or they are wallowing in poverty, can such a society be said to be better. Also, if a society in types of agriculture produce but still does not understand themselves in terms of conceptual critical aspect of physiology, can such a society be said to be better. In other words, this means to change people both mentally and physically. The development of any nation depends on moral solely on the moral development of the citizens for national development cannot be achieved when the citizens are morally bank corrupt where the citizens of a country cannot exhibit moral virtues such as integrity, honest, contentment and selflessness, it will be difficult for such a country to achieve national growth and development. As Julius Nyerere correctly put it, said that development is a freedom that attracts development and freedom are inseparable with development. This is reminiscent of Walter Rodney's position that Africa was deliberately exploited and all the development by European colonial regimes. According to Nyerere view, we can see that development and freedom without having a strong background orientation in physiology may make development a waste of time. Precisely, it is in this logical training that analysis criticism rigour can be attained. It is true in astrology, but every theory and programme of development receives all forms of advantage or disadvantage in scope and nature. Understanding of African Political Philosophy African political philosophy is a less explored yield of study in comparison to research areas such as metaphysic, anthropology, theology, sociology and economics. As a reflection on the polis, African politics philosophers are concerned with people everyday life, everyday experience of alliances and collective. African political philosophy also 196 Mbachu Good Governance, Philosophy And Leadership: A Prospective To African ... addresses the issue concerning the nature and justification of power. In this regard African political philosophy have to deal with multiple challenges African emancipation , poverty human right, gender and democracy to mention some few. However, most literature that examines development in African cannot be extricated from culture. As Charles Mills remarks, African philosophers often choose to specialize in ethics or social and political philosophy of culture, because their lives. However, the present African predicament with regard to philosophy and development can make one doubt, if there is any meaningful contribution by African philosophers towards philosophy and development of their societies. Hardly, any scholars can be justifiable to doubt the poor state in which African societies are at present in terms of philosophical training. We cannot conclude that the African philosophers have not provided philosophies that could have helped to direct African's development towards the correct. The problem seems to be more that of implementing the proposals put forward. For instance, over fifty years ago the 'prophetic' Kwame Nkrumah called for and wrote a book titles African Must Unite. Rather than adopting his thought as the feasible route to development, many self-seeking African leaders described Nkrumah dream as impossible. His thought is referred to as archaic and impracticable or less effective in contemporary African society. A few decades after Nkrumah's clarion call, some European countries formed e European Union (E U) for the collective benefit and for providing global leadership. Since then, American and Asian state states have also come together, challenges not withstanding African is yet to make any meaningful progress towards a union government in spite of public acknowledgment of this need by some of its leaders. The struggle for African liberation is the concept of liberate expresses the experience o majority of human beings consisting in the struggle to break chains of domination and exploitation, as well as to overcome the subsequent poverty. Majority of Africans leaders opted for western paradigm become they considered it able to overcome ethnic cleavages And to contribute to the rise of modern African states. The opponents to this option think that the building state on account of a western paradigm leads to the absorption of African peculiarity. Representative to the United Nations, Prof. Tijani Bande, informed the United Nations Security Council that 2.3 million people were affected by the nine-year old Boko Haram insurgency. “He said that, million people were internally displaced with the most adversely affected being women and children.” These are apart from cases of recurrent communal clashes, industrial violence riots, civil protests and demonstrations. A worrisome dimension of violence in Nigeria is religious violence, which is a cause of serious concern to many people. Indeed some are apprehensive that except the nation stems the tide of the dangerous religious violence, it may lead to a major religious war. Religious violence has taken the front burner in contemporary discourse on Nigeria's democracy. Since the re-commencement of democratic rule on 29 May 1999, religious violence has come to occupy the center stage. The ubiquity of religious violence is attested to by the sheer dramatic rise in the incidences as well as the volume of destruction of lives and property that have accompanied them and the palpable tension and animosity it has generated in the relationship between different groups in the country. Religious violence has not only continued till date, it has become aggravated. As Michael, Adeleke 197 Aquino Journal of Philosophy, Vol 2 Issue 2 2022-December ISSN: 2786-9792 Ogunewu asserted. “The scale of persecution of Christians has heightened in recent times, especially in the northern states and in the middle belt zone. It has resulted in immense loss of lives and wanton destruction of properties, prominent among which were Churches. ”Painting a picture of a dangerous future if the trend of religious violence is not reversed, Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua wrote: The cloud on religion and ethnic co- existence is getting thicker on daily basis. Dialogue as a tool that ought to beam light on this apparent dark relationship needs to be given a renewed impetus in the face of criminal activities that now carry the label of religion. Some of the government policies and political appointments are often given a religious interpretation such that some people even perceive these as indicators of a systemic method of endorsing a particular religion as National religion. There is an escalation of mutual suspicion between Christians and Muslims because of these. To drive home this enquiry, there is needed to be honest and frank if we must avert the sword that is dangling over the head of the nation. Religious war has never been funny in world history. Christians express the kind of sentiments reflected in Omonokhua?s comment above because there is no strong denunciation of the senseless killings by the government, and perpetrators are not punished for their acts of wickedness. Violence affects development severally. It compounds the political instability of the nation, which makes it difficult for foreign investors to come into the country. Violence has caused the closure of several investments thus making the country to lose both recourses and foreign investors. The Niger Delta crisis is a case in point. The crisis has forced the closure/relocation of some oil companies from the area. The Concept of Sustainable Development The word sustainability” does not have an agreed upon single definition. There ate many definitions for sustainability. According to Ehrenfied (2008), sustainability is the possibility of the human and other life will flourish on the earth forever”. USA national environmental policy act (1969) defined sustainability as create and maintain conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony and fulfill the social, economic and other requirements of present and future generations of Americans”. Whether African is compared with other continent or it is considered on its own, much of African is in a precarious state. African is known to be lacking behind in terms of development not only in economy or infrastructure but also in science technology politics and empowerment of the youth. African Philosophy and Natural Development By its nature, philosophy is critical reflection on life and human affairs. African mythology is not just an abstract discipline. Nwala (1981) define it as a study that "originates from man's guests for theoretical and practical solutions to the problems of life". Nkrumah (1974) wrote thus, about the invaluable junction of African physiology. It has to be recognized that African physiology has something to contribute that is to say that African physiology having transcended the level of the great debate most think seriously on how best it can be really to person oriented development. Therefore, Africa physiology must think truly, think wisely, think critically, think globally and think viciously with regard to the humanistic development of the African person. It is the 198 Mbachu Good Governance, Philosophy And Leadership: A Prospective To African ... responsibility of the physiologies evacuate and critical criticize these ideologies we're also when ideologies promote only. The selfish interest of leaders at such times is of a poor ideology, a poor development, a positive ideology, a speedy development. We live in a world where there are a collection of values, both good and bad. It is the challenge of Africa physiology to help direct people on the part of the right values. Philosophy and Good Governance Philosophy exposes people to their thought with the purpose of incorporating relevant principles to contemporary situations. The application of the principles brings improvement to governance and enhances people's lives. Philosophy provides ideological basics for good governance so that a particular government can be oriented ideologically. This is as it imbues human persons with rationality, foresight, criticality and dynamism, as well as analytic and innovative character necessary for quality performance. The absence of ideology orientation has been a factor for the lack of good governance in Africa. Physiologies should challenge leaders to adopt a new functional ideology. Political ideology is a clear-cut of political ideology in comprising principles upon which a government or political parties is based. A major reason for the African situation is that the most of our political parties do not have well-articulated political ideologies. Government at its best is a government with an ideology basic. Thus, physiologist in a given society evaluates the government in power with the aim of bringing about better government. In other words, physiologist should be part of the checks and balance needed in the modern states. The functions are very imperative in African, considering the prevalence of bad governance, the intolerance of many political offices to oppose views and the docility of the general populace. The primary responsibility of any government is to protect life and property. Philosophy exposes people to their thoughts with the purpose of incorporating relevant principles to contemporary saturation. The application of the principles things improvement to good governance and enhances people's lives. Essence of Philosophy in African Sustainable Development The essence of philosophy consists in the fact that it is a search for wisdom. This nature underscores the etymology of philosophy as love of wisdom. Wisdom is a rational behaviors in all areas of life, the capacity of determining what is good or bad and the ability to make good choices or wise decisions, whereas love is an attitude of the mind towards what exists (Chinweuba, 2019). This, means that in essence, philosophy is a rational exercise. It privileges reason as its sole tool when compared to other disciplines. And of all the attributes bestowed on humankind, none surpasses rationality (Asiegbu, 2011) Rationality as synonymous with and as an essence of philosophy however, depicts man's ability to think differentially and proactively. It as well connotes that; The positive intent to galvanize available means to desired and approved ends; an intent that must be backed up by the qualities of efficiency, impersonality, objectivity and neutrality. It (Rationality) means that at their deepest levels many of our problems, just as the problem of Africa identity itself, are philosophical problems (Wiredu, 1985: Bodunrin, 199 Aquino Journal of Philosophy, Vol 2 Issue 2 2022-December ISSN: 2786-9792 1985). It thus, means that the essence of inculcating the character of critical reflection in the human person stands for philosophy. Along this line, philosophy as a discipline builds rational mind in an individual which produces pragmatic ideas and translates to socio- economic policies, ideologies, achievements and solutions to society's problems. Thus, society's meaningful innovations and development stem from philosophical endeavors and are sustained by philosophical endeavors. However, the speculative nature of philosophy also makes it central in governance and human existence. To be true, most countries in Africa is not developing but under developing' for the little development in these countries is fast dilapidating. This is as the so called development as well its processes lack indigenous philosophical thoughts and foundations. In other words, such development is in the words of ideas by not the objectification or externalization of African indigenous mental infrastructure (Chiweuba, 2019). As such, the little alien philosophers' and ideologies implemented by most African leaders have remained counterproductive' for such philosophies lack the capacity to drive indigenous governance and people towards industrialization and sustainable development. The predicament of governance in African therefore, predicates on lack of essence of philosophical ideas, will and discipline on the side of the leaders. Hence, Plato's imperative of 'philosopher Kings' in African continent. The Imperativeness of Philosopher Kings' in the Governance of African Nations The imperative of 'Philosopher Kings' in the governance of African nations is proper in order to save the continent from backwardness, poverty and instability. It is more proper because solution to Africa predicament lies in “launching a philosophical analysis of the problem, with the belief that it is better to approach the problem from all angles rather than using standard and set models” (Aghamelu & Ani, 2011). Philosopher Kings' are competent personalities based on their acquisition of sufficient measure of genuine philosophy that consists in knowledge of the good, interrelation of truths visible and intelligible world, opinion and knowledge, appearance and reality that are catalysts of good governance (Stumpf, 1994). Through rigorous philosophical training, 'Philosopher Kings' have also attained seasoned character' high discipline, rational faculties, openness to change, mastery of persistent drives of appetites and emotions, consistent logical and critically connections between ideas and between these ideas and realities. Based on these, 'philosopher Kings' posses that critically penetrating and illuminating qualities, necessary in tackling the problem of governance in Africa and proffering effective solutions. The imperative of 'philosopher Kings' is also necessary because each African nation comprises of diverse tribes socio-political and cultural groups. For instance, Nigeria has more than 200 heterogeneous ethnic groups. The conflicting nature of the contents and aspirations of these cultures and groups has made governance in Africa more complex and unattainable. This is coupled with the dynamic complexities of individual within these African states. It therefore, takes the qualities of 'Philosopher Kings' to run inclusive governance that will sustain the integration of these tribes, groups and individuals. Besides, adherence to the rule of law, public order, good governance and socio-economic development are not natural order of things but depend 200 Mbachu Good Governance, Philosophy And Leadership: A Prospective To African ... on sound and rational individuals enriched with the knowledge of understanding, analysis and logic. From all indications therefore, the 'Philosopher Kings' have the ability to deconstruct the dire trend of governance in Africa. They also have the dialectical ability to accommodate opposing views and epistemology of other continents in the promotion of good governance. Thus, the 'Philosopher Kings' are capable of subjecting proposals, theories, doctrines and practices associated with governance to rigorous critical investigation and evaluation, so as to arrive at the synthesis that will advance African societies. They are also capable of “conceptual decolonization” a critical self-awareness against unexamined assimilation of western categories, concepts and theories (Wiredu, 1995 p. 23). Within this philosophical transformative condition, African states will be enabled to respond effectively to the challenges of governance'; nation building and sustainable development. Philosophy as a speculative discipline broadens human mind and equips it with essential tools of criticality, consistency, logicality, comprehensiveness, profundity and coherence. Philosophy moreover, enhances mental abstraction of realities, reminiscence and dialectics, which give rise to authentic knowledge. Thus, the discipline leads leaders step by step from mere subjective perception to synthetic objective thought and eventually to pragmatic and realistic knowledge that positively transform governance and translates to sustainable development. Philosophy equally plays a significant role in harnessing the goals and objectives of governance. Along this line, philosophy ensures and maintains a perfect harmony between goals, objectives and their implementation. situation in African, having good government is one of the greatest needs of African and whatever contribution is made towards it's actualization would be a most worthy contribution philosophy should create awareness among the populace on what good governance entails Philosophy for Good Governance in African Social Development Philosopher in the society should make deliberate efforts to address this challenge from the home to the society at larger. In view of the pervasiveness of bad governance in African, it would take a long time to overcome it. In addition, Philosophers in institutions of higher learning especially should be intentional in re-orienting the youth to desire to change the society for the better and to maximize any future state leadership positions as means of achieving the great objective. In this regard, youth should be encouraged to imbibe discipline and sacrifice, thinking of ways they can make significant contributions to their societies. This is also indicated that youth should be equipped to know that indulging in anti-vices would hinder them from personal development as well as their future usefulness to their societies because they are the future of tomorrow. Social development is a very broad concept requiring impacts from various disciplines. Philosophy underscores the improvement of life for the people of any given society to the development and advancement of the society. Social development requires motivation especially with reference to re-orientation. This is a legacy with Philosophy has bequeathed to history and it is the essence of social development. Philosophy in its practical dimension identifies with the context in which it functions and air at bringing significant to the people and their situation. People needs to be motivated so that the will 201 Aquino Journal of Philosophy, Vol 2 Issue 2 2022-December ISSN: 2786-9792 key into the re-orientation efforts so that the effort would have impact on the society. Philosophy can help in the re-orientation process of the society re-orientation relates to human values which is a part of domain of Philosophy. Several Philosophers has contributed in discussing on how to improve in the political conditions of the times with a few formulating political for governing societies for the time of plate. The higher order thinking speaks of critical thinking, the capacity to ask fundamental questions about realities the development of any society is dependent on quality of their thinking and articulation this ability to think down to the root is a task proper to philosophy. The paper, “Philosophy, governance and social development,” examines the roles of philosophy in promoting good governance and social development to ameliorate the burden of life and living in Africa. The paper briefly describes the African situation, reflects on philosophy and the society and identifies the role of philosophy in effecting good governance and social development. The African situation Even though there have been some developments in several African countries, the magnitude of corruption in Africa, the near collapse of infrastructure, the ineffectiveness of many institutions, the desperation of African youth to leave Africa, the crisis of identity and the quantum of wastage of lives and resources, all combine to make life and living a burden in Africa and has brought continental embarrassments of great proportions. In other words, the African situation conveys the imagery of being an African as a burden. It is disheartening that the African situation constrains one to agree with Charles Sherlock that “The term, Third World? has become synonymous with poverty, oppression and deprivation. “The indexes will be used in describing the African situation: namely, bad governance, poverty, violence and low life expectancy. Wirendu (1980) wrote that the function of Philosophy everywhere is to examine is the intellectual foundation of our life, using the best available modes of knowledge and reflection of human well-being. The man who has no future of philosophy goes through life imprisoned in the prejudices derived from common sense; from habitual believes of his age of his nature and from convictism which have grown up in his mind without the corporation and consent of his deliberate reason, which is the higher type of order thinking which helps us to understand our limitedness. The missing link in African golden thread has been good leadership. Leadership is a very significant concept. Four indexes will be used in describing the Africa situation: namely, violence, bad governance, poverty, poor leaving experience. Poor Leaving Experience: Poor leaving experience is reflected in Africans'' responses to danger or problems, value on human dignity and attitude of security officers, among others. For instance, there are cases of stray bullets, even police officers killings, assassinations, political and religious conflicts and riots. Life expectancy in Africa is low compared with other continents. In other words, poor leaving expectancy is the cumulative effects pervasive poverty, endemic corruption, social evils, diseases, rate of accidents, lack of social amenities and infrastructure, senseless killing and avoidable death caused by violence, ethnic, political and religious conflicts. Bad Governance: is the sane of Africa which has accounted significantly for the inability to translate the potentials into actuality. Allied to the problem of bad governance is the persistent failure to improve structures and overcome weakness. African countries 202 Mbachu Good Governance, Philosophy And Leadership: A Prospective To African ... have maintained systemic failure for decades and there by perpetuated leadership mediocrity syndrome. The political landscape of the nation has been filled with tension and confusion because many are leaving the A.P.C back to the P.D.P due to the rule of money in politics; many upcoming politicians have to rely on political god-fathers. When they are elected, they are expected to be paying money to the god-fathers which will reduce the money to be spent for their respective states. There may also be conflict between the elected politician and the god-father which would impact negatively on a particular state. The general bad leadership syndrome has been so entrenched that sometimes it is difficult to choose among aspirants. Some other times, the better qualified person would not get the position sought for or may even be rigged out of the power game. The recent election in Ekiti State where vote buying was so pronounced that the election was widely condemned is an example of political desperation. [ [ Poverty: Poverty is connected with many social problems and vices like low self- image, low productivity, violence, armed robbery, prostitution, kidnapping, ritual murder and corruption. The pervasive poverty level in Africa is burdensome. The poverty level has worsened due to the recent economic recession and the high dollar exchange rate. Apart from millions who are jobless, a good percentage of those employed are living below poverty level, judging by the international standard of anyone earring below 50 per day living below poverty level. In practical terms, those working whose salaries are below N60 per month are living below poverty level. The pervasive poverty translates into millions not living in good houses, diseases and inability to afford medical care even for common ailments and thousands of children and teenagers out of school, among others. These manifestations are due to the fact that poverty is characterized by lack of means to meet basic needs and obligations, inability or difficulty in meeting financial responsibilities and substandard living. The resultant effects are due partly to the fact that the desire to escape the grim realities of poverty ensnares many people into social vices. As Stephen Oladele Ayankeye and Abraham Olutoye Odeleye observe, poverty is “affecting Africa in so many ways. Hunger, lack of shelter and basic amenities of life are confronting Africans. It is a form of evil which increases social vices in the society.” They further note that poverty and its effects waste the lives of youth and children thereby endangering the future of Africa. This is because the continent would be robbed of the contributions such wasted youth and children would have made in the future. The future consequences of poverty lend credence to the vicious cycle of poverty as it has a grip on its victims. Violence: a worrisome dimension of violence in Nigeria is religious violence, which is a cause of serious concern to many people. Indeed some are apprehensive that except the nation stems the tide of the dangerous religious violence, it may lead to a major religious war. Another characteristic of the African situation is violence. Africa is a crisis–ridden continent. Again using Nigeria as an example, the Niger Delta crisis, the Boko Haram menace and the Fulani herdsmen problem have bedeviled the nation for years resulting in the death of hundreds of thousands of people, wanton destruction of properties and loss of arable land. [[ 203 Aquino Journal of Philosophy, Vol 2 Issue 2 2022-December ISSN: 2786-9792 Philosophy Contributes to Africa and Social Development As noted earlier, philosophy has helps in developing a comprehensive system of thought about all that exist; this help can be predicated on a method with which we can know about the contribution of philosophy to issues pertaining to people and society. Social development is a very broad concept requiring inputs from various disciplines. Philosophy is one of the disciplines that can make significant contributions to social development. As a basic, preliminary step toward achieving this goal, the philosophers in a society in their various walks of life, contribute to social development by their vocations. Their concern for a better society, which they would communicate by words and deeds, would have rippling effects on those they come in contact with. Also, they can share such concerns through the print and electronic media as well as through books, journal and conference proceedings based on social development. Additionally, they may be given opportunities to hold one position or another in the state, which will provide wider platforms to contribute to social development. Philosophy articulates principles for social development philosophy deals with concepts and ideas. Thus, it is well primed to articulate principles for social development. The implicit understanding in this regard is that it is when social development is based on well-articulated principles that it can be its best. Philosophers in a society should assist in fashioning social development that would be most relevant to a given society so that its purposes would be achieved. The purpose here is optimal development of the society. Once again, this is one of the most urgent needs of African countries now. The writers considered opinion, Africa can still blossom with capitalism. However, African countries should overcome the defects of capitalism. This is why the endemic problem of corruption is a dragon that must be tamed for the breakthrough of Africa. Also, a more conducive environment for individual development is imperative. Furthermore, schemes to take care of those disadvantaged in the system, like the social security programmes in the advanced countries, should be embarked upon intentionally by African nations. The above issues are related to justice and peace which are imperative for development of a nation. In the words of John Kwaku Opoke, et al, “justice and peace are related, subjects in the quest for promoting human development at all levels of societal life”. Like major factors needed for development and sustainability, justice and peace are essential fundamentals in the quest for a prosperous society. Philosophy encourages re-orientation for social development In the African context, re-orientation is needed before we can have social development and this is another way philosophy is an advantage to a society. Philosophy can help in the re-orientation of the society because re- orientation relates to human values, which is part of the domain of philosophy. The re- orientation is necessary to facilitate social development, to change the people from those attitudes that inhibit social development to those ones that enhance it. More specifically, such attitudes like materialism, destruction of public properties, ethnicity, and religious bigotry must be exchanged for attitudes as love, patriotism, tolerance and diligence which are imperative for social development. To be effective, however, it must be stressed that the re-orientation must begin from the leaders of the nations. In Nigeria, for example, the populace has been called once and 204 Mbachu Good Governance, Philosophy And Leadership: A Prospective To African ... again to make sacrifices for the nation and imbibe attitudes that would facilitate the greatness of the nation. However, such calls have been largely ineffective or short-lived because of the opulence, extravagance and waste among the leaders who make such calls. Philosophy motivates for social development social development requires motivation especially with reference to re-orientation. People need to be motivated so that they would key into the re-orientation efforts so that the efforts would have maximum impact on the society. The motivation would be based on the necessity, rationale, dynamics and benefits of re-orientation, and philosophy can be a great ally in formulating these concepts. The more extensive the motivation for re-orientation is, the better in terms of its success. However, as noted under the discussion of re-orientation above, mobilization cannot achieve maximum results if it is not exemplified by the leadership. Philosophy underscores social development philosophy underscores the improvement of life for the people of any given society, the development and advancement of the society. This is the essence of social development. Philosophy in its practical dimension identifies with the context in which it functions and aims at bringing significant improvement to the people and their situation. This is a legacy which philosophy has bequeathed to history. Several philosophers contributed to discussions on how to improve the political conditions of the times with a few formulating political principles for governing societies, for example, Plato and Hobbes. Thus philosophers who contribute to discussions on social development in their societies build upon this heritage. The criteria for Good Governance, Leadership and Philosophy as a Panacea to Sustainable Development in Africa In an effort to realize good governance in African sustainable development, these directional actions are instructive. a. Administration Reforms: good governance depends on bureaucracy and the civil society to an extent, however, it leans much on the former. Good governance is impossible without change in the existing mindset of the bureaucrats. Multi-faceted initiatives are required to have wider accountability of a public servants, towards the public satisfaction and delivery of service. Change should be manifested in attitudinal reforms at different levels of bureaucracy and not only in structures and procedures. b. Electoral Reforms: today, democracy has been transformed to mere electoralism. Electoral reforms had to precede political reforms; free and fair elections with citizens' being able to exercise their franchise without any fear and should domesticated as well. Strict implementation of the electoral code of conduct to ensure that the ruling party does not abuse the state machinery to influence the polling process. c. Curbing Corruption: corruption is becoming endemic in human society. Corruption in political, economic, social and administrative domains slows efficiency, effectiveness, equity, economy, accountability, justice and responsiveness. Effective institutionazation and reforms to curb corruption should be domesticated. The current effort of President Muhammandu Buhari and other personalities is instructive and commendable. 205 Aquino Journal of Philosophy, Vol 2 Issue 2 2022-December ISSN: 2786-9792 Recommendations It remains an acceptable fact the place of good governance in development administration. The application of various streams of elements and criteria for good governance as presented by this work will enable Africa development, arrangement to yield its expectation. The three arms of government should be allowed to efficiently perform their functions without influence. Leaders of administration (political appointees and bureaucrats) should be trained and equipped with administration tools to realize efficiency. The civil societies (NGOs private market operators, etc) should complement government's efforts by being law-abiding. The solution to underdevelopment associated with African countries lies in good governance. Philosophy cannot be developed in a vacuum as it seeks the development and transformation of human societies. Philosophy should be seen as a great advantage in modern day society as it has varied roles to contribute to the development of the society. Philosophy underscores the improvement of life for the people of any given society, the development and advancement of the society. Philosophers in the society should make deliberate efforts to address this challenge from the home to the society at large. In addition, philosopher in institutions of higher learning especially should be intentional in re-orienting the youth to desire to change the society for the better and to maximize any future state leadership positions as means of achieving the great objective. Conclusion From the discourse so far, it stands that philosophy is a mega discipline that will liberate African nations from conditions that rob them of good governance, productivity, sustainable development and quality life. For philosophy, it brings transformation that is replete with liberty, freedom and feats as it combats the challenges of governance. The paper has discussed philosophy, good governance and social development. As these are constructs in any society they deserve continual discussion. Philosophy should be seen as a great advantage in modern day society as it has varied roles to contribute to the development of the society. Similarly, philosophers should use their unique knowledge and training for the promotion of good governance and social development. Also, they should work together with others in their societies to enhance good governance and social development. Philosophy cannot be developed in a vacuum as it seeks the development and transformation of human societies. The pursuance of this practical goal of philosophy is one way to show its relevance and usefulness to the human society. The paper therefore concludes that further negligence of philosophical contributions and philosophers in the governance of African nations will continue to promote the existing culture of mediocrity that is the bane of African sustainable development. Therefore, the clarion call for 'philosopher Kings' is raised and sustained by present African poor governance and the fact that philosophical conceptions, convictions, beliefs, postulations and positions should stand to change this socio-political condition. Philosophy is a subdimental factor in the search for national development, it can only boot towards mental demoralization critique of culture and ideologies, building entity, definition of ethnic-political values, consicientination, technological and transformation. 206 Mbachu Good Governance, Philosophy And Leadership: A Prospective To African ... As governance, leadership and development in African strives to meet with its expectation, the attachment of good governance will definitely propel it to the forefront. There is the need to apply new public management. Good governance entails balance governance with conducive and uninterrupted relationship between the government and the civil society as active player. The challenge of good governance requires government activities to be reinvented, bureaucracy to be re-positioned, civil society activities to be re-energized with a social motive. 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