Microsoft Word - IGWEBUIKE JOURNAL VOL. 3. NO. 6.docx IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 16 IGWEBUIKE PHILOSOPHY AND THE ISSUE OF NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT KANU, Ikechukwu Anthony Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies Tansian University, Umunya Anambra State ikee_mario@yahoo.com Abstract Right from traditional African philosophy, down to its modern and contemporary era, there has been a strong link between African philosophy and language, underlined by the principle of complementarity. This is not disconnected with Placid Tempels’ employment of force to explain being, and Alexis Kagame’s NTU, as the underlying principle of reality. Pantaleon Iroegbu explained being as belongingness. In the thoughts of Innocent Asouzu, Ibuanyidanda, was used to explain the complementary nature of reality. In the face of ever growing complexities, African philosophers have continued to employ African categories for the search for solutions to African problems. At a time like ours when many African governments have failed in national development, especially in their ability to improve the social welfare of her people through the provision of social amenities like quality education, portable water, transportation, good roads, good medical amenities, security of lives and property, basic infrastructure, etc., this work employs Igwebuike philosophy, another African category, as a framework for Africa’s development. It develops a model of development which is inclusive and wholistic, and traces Africa’s problem of underdevelopment to the employment of non-inclusive political and economic institutions. For the purpose of this research, the hermeneutic and Wholistic indigenous method of inquiry was employed. Keywords: Igwebuike, Philosophy, Theoretical, Methodological, National, Development. Introduction A cursory glance at the historical development of African philosophy reveals that in the past fifty years, new philosophical theories and approaches have emerged, providing alternative perspectives to the interpretation and understanding of, not just African realities but realities in general. In the philosophy of Placid Tempels, the Father of modern African philosophy, he employed the idea of force to explain being; for Alexis Kagame, NTU was the underlying principle of IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 17 reality. With the emergence of Emmanuel Ede, being was explained with the Igbo word Idi, and for Pantaleon Iroegbu, being is by belongingness. In the thoughts of Innocent Asouzu, Ibuanyidanda, another Igbo word was used to explain the nature of reality. With these developments that established a very strong connection between African philosophy and complementarity, and African philosophy and language, new perspectives have continued to emerge in the attempt to understand universal realities from an African perspective. In more recent times, Igwebuike has been employed as a lens for the interpretation of reality. Igwebuike is an Igbo word that expresses the heart of African thought, logic and the modality of being in African philosophy1. Although it is a word, it is not just a word, it carries within it an entire structure: the structure of African philosophy, traditional religion and culture. It is taken from the Igbo language, and is a composite word made up of three words2. Therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as Igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, Igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space3. The three words involved: Igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. Bu is a verb, which means is. Ike is another verb, which means strength or power4. Thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful and can constitute an insurmountable force5. Its English equivalents are solidarity and complementarity6. It is anchored on the African worldview, which is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, 1Kanu Ikechukwu Anthony, Igwebuike as an Expressive Modality of Being in African ontology. Journal of Environmental and Construction Management. 6. 3. pp. 59-69. 2 Kanu Ikechukwu Anthony, Igwebuike as an Igbo-African wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. Igwebuike: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. 3. 2. 2017, p.52 3 Kanu Ikechukwu Anthony, Igwebuike as an Igbo-African ethic of reciprocity. Igwebuike: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. 3. 2. 2017, p.127 4 Kanu, Ikechukwu Anthony, “Igwebuike as a Complementary Approach to the Issue of Girl-Child Education”. Published in Nightingale International Journal of Contemporary Education and Research. Vol. 3. No. 6. 2017, pp. 11-17. Cf. Kanu, Ikechukwu Anthony, “Igwebuike as an Igbo-African Philosophy for the Protection of the Environment”. Published in Nightingale International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences. Vol. 3. No. 4. 2017, pp. 28-38. 5 Kanu Ikechukwu Anthony, Igwebuike and the logic of African philosophy. Igwebuike: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. 3. 1. 2017, P.9 6 Kanu Ikechukwu Anthony, Igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. Igwebuike: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. 3. 1. 2017, p.78 IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 18 shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny7. Life is a life of sharedness8. Ours are governments that have failed in national development, especially in their ability to improve the social welfare of her people through the provision of social amenities like quality education, portable water, transportation, good roads, good medical amenities, security of lives and property, basic infrastructure, etc. These are indications that the time has come for African scholars to develop a framework for Africa’s development. It is in this regard that Igwebuike philosophy, a wholistic indigenous model of development is employed as an alternative technique for the revisiting of the issue of underdevelopment in Africa. These notwithstanding, what is development? The Quest for a Wholistic Model of Development The question of the meaning of development has become a burgeoning issue in Africa, and it has attracted a retinue of theoretical perspectives from different backgrounds. These perspectives are referred to as models of development. 1. Science and Technology Model One of the models is the reductionist concept of development, which is also known as the science and technology model. This, according to Bhagavan, is based on the created impression and conviction that science and technology are the keys that unlock the door of development; thus, more scientifically and technologically advanced societies are understood as more developed than the others. It is on this basis that some countries in the world are regarded as developed, others as developing and some others as underdeveloped9. This notwithstanding, Oraegbunam avers that the human person is more than science and technology, and to lock up development within the compartment of science and technology is only to limit development10. Heidegger, thus, avers that science and technology is only a means to an end and not an end in itself11. While development includes science and technology, it does not have the monopoly of development. 7 Iroegbu, P., Metaphysics: The Kpim of Philosophy. Owerri: International Universities Press. 1995, p. 24 8 Kanu, Ikechukwu Anthony, Igwebuike as the consumate foundation of African bioethical principles. Igwebuike: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. 2. 2. 2016, p.41. 9 Bhagavan, M. R. (1990). The technological transformation of the Third World. London: Zed Books. 10 Oraegbunam, I. K. E. (2009). Journal of the Nigerian Philosophical Association. 5. 6. pp. 56-81. 11 Heidegger, M. (1977). The question concerning technology. New York: Harper and Row. IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 19 2. Economic Model Economism has also associated development with economic growth. This perspective is evident in Karl Marx who argued that the economy of a nation is the substructure upon which other structures rest. As such, once there is a positive change in the Gross National Product (GDP) of a nation, it is said to be developed, and when it is contrary, the country is said to be underdeveloped. The association of economic growth with development has led to what Kim refers to as a cult of money and the dehumanization of the human person. It was this inordinate and reckless drive for development that led to the slave trade and colonialism12. In the name of boosting economic growth humanity was dehumanized. Development cannot be anti-people; for development is for the human person. 3. Secularist and Historicist Model The secularist and historicist model of development is associated with the dawn of modernism, animated by the Cartesian anthropological philosophy, which overthrew the theocentricism of the medieval world, giving birth to practical philosophies that undermined religious and supernatural realities and authorities. This perspective is the basis for enlightenment, agnosticism and atheism. Its proponents strongly believe that development is predicated on autonomy rather than hegemony. This perspective features prominently in the philosophies of Hume, Nietzsche, Darwin, etc. The end result of this position is the reduction of man to a chain of evolutionary processes that are devoid of meaning. The human person becomes a kind of machine, a clock, commoditized and depersonalized in the image of a big vending machine; this diminishes his value as a human person. It, therefore, becomes very difficult to reduce development to such a perspective. 4. Igwebuike Model of Development The foregoing models can be categorized as reductionist, in the sense that they hold perspectival perspectives of the reality of development. From the perspective of Igwebuike model of developemnt, reality is wholistic, and if individual, it is in relation to the other which they complement. These perspectival perspectives have created a rowdy atmosphere in the economy of 12 Kim, R. (1982). Development that is total and human. Origins. 11. 8. 122. IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 20 development13. In the midst of the multiplicity of perspectives, Igwebuike asserts that for development to be development, a positive change in human wellbeing is necessary14. The individual and his quality of life must be the centre of the conception of development. It is in this regard that Schumacher avers that development should not start with goods, but with the people, their education, organization and discipline. It is not all about money, profit and the number of industries15. Development is an overall social process including economics, social, political, cultural and moral dimensions of life16. Facets of National Development Development is not only economic in character, because there can be economic growth without development, especially if the majority of the people did not 13 Eliot, C. (1971). The development debate. London: SCM. 14Onwuliri, C. E.C. (2008). The Church as an agent of progress and development. In I. Onyeocha (Ed). The Church as agent of progress and Development, CIP Jubilee Essays (pp. 70-83). Owerri: Imo State University press. 15 Schumacher, E. F. (1975). Small is beautiful: A study of economics as if people mattered. London: SCM. 16 Schumacher, E. F. (1975). Small is beautiful: A study of economics as if people mattered. London: SCM. Political Economic Social Cultural Moral Religious Biological Science/Technolo gy Development (National Development) IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 21 benefit from it17. Onwuliri, thus opines that development goes beyond the narrow lines of economic and material advancement18. Development is a multidimensional process involving the totality of man in his political, economic, psychological, social relations, among others19. Development is not a completed affair, it is an ongoing process. Three concepts necessary for the understanding of development from the Igwebuike perspective is: the centrality of the human person in development; the wholistic nature of development; and the ongoing or process nature of development. The Paradox of Poverty in the midst of Abundance Africa is a country that is richly blessed with natural renewable resources: water, forestry, fisheries, etc., and non-resources: gold, diamonds, oil, coltan, bauxite, uranium, iron ore and other valuable resources, yet the wealth of Africa does not make Africans wealthy. Its inhabitants have long been numbered among the world’s poorest. For instance, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the country holds natural resources worth trillions of dollars but the population is blighted with extreme poverty and violence. 17Nwajiuba (1999). “The relationship between material social status and academic performance of secondary school students in Owerri Educational Zone”. Med Thesis, Department of educational Foundations and administration, Imo State University owerri. 18 Onwuliri, C. E.C. (2008). The Church as an agent of progress and development. In I. Onyeocha (Ed). The Church as agent of progress and Development, CIP Jubilee Essays (pp. 70-83). Owerri: Imo State University press. 19 Kanu, Ikechukwu, A. (2014). “African Philosophy and the Issue of Development”. Paripex: Indian Journal of Research. Volume. 3. Issue. 7. pp. 1-5. Cf. Kanu, Ikechukwu, A. (2014). “Kinship in African Philosophy and the Issue of Development”. Published in the International Journal of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education. Volume. 1. Issue. 9. pp. 1-6. Cf. Kanu, Ikechukwu, A. (2014). “Symbols in African Philosophy and the Issue of Nation Building”. Published in the International Journal of Scientific Research. Volume. 3. Issue. 9. pp. 35-37. IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 22 That Africa’s abundant natural resources can in so many cases have so little effect on its people’s quality of life over so many years is one of the great mysteries surrounding Africa20. With all her resources, Time Magazine casts 20 Irwin Arieff, If Africa Is So Rich, Why Is It So Poor? http://www.passblue.com/2015/05/18/if-africa- is-so-rich-why-is-it-so-poor. IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 23 Africa in a mode that could force tears out of the eyes of any lover of the continent. “Nowhere is day more vivid or night darker. Nowhere are forests more luxuriant. Nowhere is a continent more miserable”21. It says that “Africa has become the basket case of the planet, ‘the third world of the third world’, a vast continent in free fall”22. It goes further to say that Africa has posed a fresh problem for the external world because their interest in it has now become “merely charitable- a matter of humanitarianism, a moral test for the West”23. Under normal circumstances, natural resources boom should be a catalyst for national development, and the transformation of national economies from cottage industries to factory production, from a low value economy that relies on export of primary commodities to one with a substantial labour-intensive manufacturing base. With all the natural resources that Africa possesses, none of her countries is part of the 30 richest countries in the world. They rather are competing for space in the list of the 60 poorest. How Europe underdeveloped Africa or How Africa is underdeveloping Africa? Walter Rodney described as “the revolutionary scholar and the scholar revolutionary, the man of great integrity and hope”24, in 1972 published the work How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. In this wonderful piece he discussed the meaning of development, which he distinguished from underdevelopment. With this clarification of concepts, he was preparing the background for his study. He analyzed how Africa developed until the 15th century before the advent of the Europeans. He argued that Africa contributed to European capitalist development during the pre-colonial period, and maintained that as Africa contributed to European capitalist development, Europe underdeveloped Africa through the slave trade, stagnation of Africa’s technological development, distortion of the economy and the coming of imperialism and colonialism. He discussed in chapter five, the contribution of Africa to the capitalist development of Europe during the colonial period, and argued that colonialism was a system for underdeveloping Africa. 21 Time Magazine, (September 7, 1992), p.40. 22Time Magazine, (September 7, 1992) pp.40-41. 23 Time Magazine, (September 7, 1992), p. 42 24 Rodney, W. (1972). How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (pp. xi-xxx). Lagos: Panaf Publishing. (p. xi) IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 24 However, as Africans discussed how Europe underdeveloped Africa, a new work emerged in 2010 titled: How Africa Underdeveloped Africa. In this study, Stanley, C. Igwe discusses how, Africa, through corruption and poor innovative value system has buried herself in poverty and underdevelopment25. This study has shifted attention from the thought of how Europe underdeveloped Africa to the reality of how Africans are under-developing Africa through corruption, ill- focused leadership, war, religious crisis, etc. A couple of factors would, therefore, be discussed to show how Africa is underdeveloping Africa. 1. Poor Leadership and Political Institutions Many African countries are ruled by narrow elites who have organized society for their own benefit at the expense of the vast majority of the African people. We have a situation where so many young people are not in the university. Public health conditions are so poor that mortality rates cannot but be on the increase. Mothers have to worry about the rates of infant immortality. There is no access to public amenities. Roads are in bad condition; law and order is even in worse condition. Crime is very high and even opening a business is to risk your life: if you do not risk armed robbery, you would go through hell in order to get the permission needed to open the business. Every society functions on a set of political rules created and enforced by political institutions26. Daron and James argue that: It is the political institutions of a nation that determine the ability of citizens to control politicians and influence how they behave. This in turn determines whether politicians are agents of the citizens, albeit imperfect, or are able to abuse the power entrusted to them, or that they have usurped, to amass their own fortunes and to pursue their own agendas, ones detrimental to those of the citizens27. The major reason why bad leadership continues to thrive in Africa is because of bad political structures put in place by bad political leaders for a continuous accommodation of their ineptitude. If Africa looks forward to development, then she must get the right leaders who can drive in that direction. 25 Stanley, C. Igwe, How Africa underdeveloped Africa. Professional Printers, Port Harcourt, 2010. pp. 11-12 26 Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty. Profile Books, London. 2012, p.42. 27 Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty. Profile Books, London. 2012, p.42. IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 25 2. Poor management of Time in Africa BBC NEWS reported that international journalists in the UK were kept waiting by the king of Ghana's largest ethnic group who was visiting Alexandra Palace in north London at the climax of a Ghanaian trade exhibition, Ghana Expo 200328. The journalists had been informed that Otumfuo Osei Tutu II from the Ashanti would arrive at the exhibition at 1100. The time was changed to 1400, but the king did not show up until two hours later when the journalists had already packed and left. The incident made the whites to remark that ‘Africans are terrible time-keepers’. J. S. Mbiti, an African scholar sees this differently. He writes: When foreigners, especially from Europe and America see people sitting down somewhere without, evidently doing anything, they often remark, ‘These Africans waste their time by just sitting down idle!’ Another common cry is, ‘Oh, Africans are always late!’ It is easy to jump to such judgements based on ignorance of what time means to African peoples. Those who are seen sitting down, are actually not wasting time, but either waiting for time or in the process of producing time29. The problem of punctuality has become so endemic that lateness to any function is accepted and explained off as 'African time’30. 'African time' is killing Africa, as missed appointments, meetings or even late buses cut productivity in a region where languid tardiness is the norm31. Nyasami observed that “No meaningful progress can be achieved in the absence of a well-co-ordinated programme that is managed within the specifications of time and space”32. It, therefore, cannot be denied that one of the main reasons for the continuing underdevelopment of Africa is her nonchalant attitude to time. Thus, Victor observed that: African time lingers around like an awful smell that will just not go away. Everywhere you go you see examples of tardiness that can be linked back 28 Ghana Expo, Tuesday, 28 October, 2003, 16:03 GMT. 29 J. S. Mbiti, African Religions and Philosophy, East African educational publishers, 1970, p. 19. 30 Ghanaian Chronicle (2004). Progress and punctuality. Retrieved 21st Februay 2013. "http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-21361202_ITM. 31Wikipedia (2013). African time. Retrieved 21st February 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_time#cite_note-8. 32 Nyasami, J. M. (2010). Philosophy of development: An African perspective: Reflections on why Africa may never develop on the western model. Kenya: Consolata Institute of Philosophy. p. 259 IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 26 to the myth of African Time. What is particularly distressing is that the African Time bug has arrived at many schools. As you drive past a school you see a group of children casually walking over well past the official starting time. The tragic thing about those who arrive late is that they are invariably the first to leave school for their homes. Worst still, many senior officials in both politics and business seem to delight in arriving late, as if this confirmed their status. Politicians habitually fail to be on time for virtually every programme- especially given that so many of them whizz past the traffic at the flick of their blue lights and their loud sirens33. The direct consequence of Africa’s attitude towards time is Africa’s underdevelopment. If Africa must be like other civilizations, she must change her mentality towards time. 3. Religious Fanaticism and Fundamentalism Religious fanaticism and fundamentalism has its hands on every dimension of Africa, surfacing and resurfacing its ugly face on various fronts. For instance, it is in Nigeria that men and women keep away from work, waiting in idleness for God’s blessings; hours upon hours that should be spent in work are spent in churches and mosques praying. It is in Nigeria that you find a situation where people have no work, and salaries have not been paid, and yet billions of naira are spent on pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia and Jerusalem. It is in Nigeria that every experience is spiritualized; even laziness and the non-use of common sense is explained away as spiritual attacks, thereby creating a generation that are lazy, irresponsible, with an incapacitated ability to reason scientifically who now see God as a rewarder of mediocrity. Pentecostal pastors will never talk about American scientists who are working daily and tirelessly to ensure the discovery of drugs to cure diseases that have overtaken Africa. They will not talk about Serena Williams or Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie or Dangote Aliko, etc., who have defied all odds and became successful through hardwork, creativity, etc. They will rather talk about how a girl who was unqualified for a job got the job through prayers and fasting. They would rather talk about how a man became a millionaire because he used his 33 Victor, D. (2013). What is this thing called African Time? Retrieved 21 February, 2013. http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2010-01-21-what-is-this-thing-called-african-time. IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 27 whole salary to sow a seed in the church. They would rather talk about how nameless men through paying their tithes were able to experience a business boom, or how through the laying of hands, people who didn’t study got admission into a prestigious university. We are a nation with more churches and mosques than we have schools, business institutions, hospitals, etc. And because we have refused to draw a line between religiosity and spirituality, the continuous rise in religious activities have not reflected any expected moral elevation of society. Nigeria is still one of the greediest, laziest, corrupt, deceitful and hateful set of human beings on the planet earth, and yet one of the most religious. Religious fundamentalism has set citizens against themselves, leading to destruction of lives and property. Nigeria is a multi-religious state with Muslims, Christians and adherents of African Traditional Religion, but fundamentalism has not let Nigerians realize this. Ever since the 19th century, when Uthman Dan Fodio launched a Jihad on the Northern part of Nigeria, different Islamic terrorist groups have emerged, posing a serious security challenge to Nigerians. In 1980, the Maitatsine radical group sprang up, bringing about devastating human and material losses. The most recent and serious is that of the Boko Haram sect34. They refer to themselves as Jama’at ahl as-sunnah li-d-da’awati wa-li-jihad (People committed to the Prophet’s teaching and jihad)35. In a confession made by Nasir Isiaku, a member of the Boko Haram sect, reported by Saturday Sun News Paper on August 10, 2013, he described their agenda thus: Our agenda is to wipe out Christians; we have governors, senators as sponsors; our sponsors are past Nigerian leaders; we have infiltrated the Nigerian forces. We have our members in the police and the army. Those members help us a lot when we want to fight; if we asked our victim: will you become a Muslim or not? And he or she refuses, then, we will 34 Kanu, Ikechukwu A. (2017). The culture of political corruption and the emergence of terrorism in Nigeria. In Mahmoud Misaeli and Rico Sneller (Eds.). The Root Causes of Terrorism: A Religious Studies Perspective (pp. 280-291). United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 35 Kanu, Ikechukwu A. (2016). “Christian-Muslim Relations in Nigeria as a Religio-Political Locus Theologicus for Misericordia Vultus”. Published in the Harvard Journal of Humanities and Social sciences. Vol. 3. No. 4. pp. 117-128. IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 28 slaughter the victim like a goat. And after killing the victim, we will collect his blood or her blood in a small cup and then drink the blood36. A nation like ours ruled by religious fanaticism and fundamentalism, will find it difficult to be ready for development. For everyone who is interested in development, he must be open to new ideas, new people and alternative models of reality. 4. Corruption: The ‘African Factor’ Corruption is a highly complex with many different manifestations. It can be grand or petty, incidental, systematic or systemic. It can be judicial, administrative, legislative or political in nature. It can occur in the public, private or civil society sector. It can involve groups or individuals. Academics from various disciplines define it in various ways: 1. "the giving, offering, or agreeing to give a benefit to an official or agent and the receiving, obtaining or agreeing to receive or attempting to obtain a benefit by a public official or agent";37 2. "the violation of formal rules governing the allocation of public resources by officials in response to offers of financial gain or political support";38 3. "the abuse of public roles or resources for private benefit";39 4. "the abuse of power, most often for personal gain or for the benefit of a group to which one owed one’s allegiance. While the term ‘corruption’ is most often applied to abuse of public power by politicians or civil servants, it describes a pattern of behaviour that can be found in virtually every sphere of life";40 5. “a symptom of something gone wrong in the management of the state where institutions designed to govern the relationships between citizens 36 Nasir Isiaku reported by Saturday Sun News Paper on August 10, 2013 (pp. 12-13). 37 South African Corruption Act no 94 of 1992. 38 J Nye, “Corruption and Political Development: A Cost-benefit Analysis”, American Political Science Review 51, 1967. 39 M Johnston, “The search for definitions: The vitality of Politics and the Issue of Corruption”. International Social Science Journal 49, 1996, pp 321-335. 40 R Stapenhurst & S Kpundeh, “Curbing Corruption: Towards a Model for Building National Integrity”, EDI Development Studies, World Bank, 1999. IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 29 and the state are used instead for the personal enrichment of public officials and the provision of benefits to the corrupt"41. From the above definitions, corruption appears to be more than bribery (to which it is often reduced in legal definitions), and relates to various forms of mismanagement, abuse or misuse of mainly public authority, office, duties, trust or resources, for private, personal or sectoral interest, benefit or gain42. The world sees Africa as one party state that is led by corruption. If there is any social malaise whose notoriety hardly can be paralleled, and which bears an ignoble identity with the geographical construction otherwise known as Africa, then one rarely needs a deep search to discover that which is our point of departure- corruption43. The damages it has done to the continent are astronomical. It leads to slow movement of files in offices, police extortion at tollgates and slow traffics on the highways, port congestion, queues at passport offices and gas stations, ghost workers syndrome, election irregularities, among others. Even the mad people on the street recognize the havoc caused by corruption - the funds allocated for their welfare disappear into the thin air44. Corruption has become so institutionalized that some now accept it as the African way of doing things. People now speak of the ‘African factor’ when they speak of corruption45. Those associated with criminal records are embraced by the society, while merit, honesty and integrity are hardly recognized46. In the area of election in Africa, it is common site to see purchase of votes by the political class with money, promises of office or special favors, coercion, intimidation, and interference with freedom of election. Votes are bought, people 41 “UNDP, Corruption and good governance 1997”, Discussion Paper 3, Management and Governance Division, Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, UNDP, New York, 1997. 42 Kanu, Ikechukwu Anthony, The culture of political corruption and the emergence of terrorism in Nigeria. In Mahmoud Misaeli and Rico Sneller (Eds.). The Root Causes of Terrorism: A Religious Studies Perspective (pp. 280-291). United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 2017. 43 Mordi C, & Afangide F., “Corruption: Nigeria’s Existential question”. The Quest Vol.2.2 June 2001-July 2002. P.21 44 Victor E. Dike, “Corruption in Nigeria: A New Paradigm for Effective Control”. Africa Economic Analysis. www.AfricaEconomicAnalysis.org 45 Efeturi Ojakaminor, Nigeria’s Ghana Must Go Republic: Happenings. (Ogun: Ambassador Publications, n.d.), P. 418 46 Shehu Shagari, The Nigerian Standard, November 1, 1983, p. 11. IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 30 are killed, losers end up as the winners, and votes turn up in areas where votes were not cast47. In the area of education corruption has made Africa glide precariously. Endless strikes by teachers whose salaries are not paid for many months and involvement in sinister activities by students who are subjected to very harsh neglect have turned most institutions of learning into dens of potential criminals48. Transparency International Corruption Perception Index49 Rank Country/territory 2015 Score 2014 Score 2013 Score 2012 Score 1 Denmark 91 92 91 90 1 New Zealand 91 91 91 90 3 Finland 90 89 89 90 4 Sweden 89 87 89 88 5 Norway 88 86 86 85 6 Switzerland 86 86 85 86 7 Luxembourg 85 82 80 80 7 Singapore 85 84 86 87 9 Netherlands 84 83 83 84 10 Canada 83 81 81 84 11 Germany 81 79 78 79 11 United Kingdom 81 78 76 74 13 Australia 79 80 81 85 13 Iceland 79 79 78 82 15 Belgium 77 76 75 75 16 Austria 76 72 69 69 16 United States 76 74 73 73 18 Hong Kong 75 74 75 77 18 Ireland 75 74 72 69 47 Kanu, Ikechukwu Anthony, Corruption in Nigeria as a Socio-Cultural Context for the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. Harvard Journal of Management Sciences and Entrepreneurship. Vol. 3. No. 5. pp. 191. 2017 48 Kanu, Ikechukwu Anthony, Corruption in Africa and its Challenges for the Enterprise of Christian Theology. International Journal of Research in Arts and Social Sciences, Vol.4. p. 495. 2017 49 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index 2016. Retrieved from https://www.transparency.org/cpi2015 IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 31 Rank Country/territory 2015 Score 2014 Score 2013 Score 2012 Score 18 Japan 75 76 74 74 21 Uruguay 74 73 73 72 22 Qatar 71 69 68 68 23 Chile 70 73 71 72 23 Estonia 70 69 68 64 23 France 70 69 71 71 23 United Arab Emirates 70 70 69 68 27 Bhutan 65 65 63 63 28 Portugal 64 63 62 63 29 Botswana 63 63 64 65 29 Poland 63 61 60 58 31 Taiwan 62 61 61 61 32 Cyprus 61 63 63 66 32 Israel 61 60 61 60 34 Malta 60 55 56 57 34 Slovenia 60 58 57 61 36 Lithuania 59 58 57 54 37 Spain 58 60 59 65 38 Czech Republic 56 51 48 49 38 Latvia 56 55 53 49 40 Cape Verde 55 57 58 60 40 Costa Rica 55 54 53 54 40 Seychelles 55 55 54 52 43 Korea (South) 54 55 55 56 43 Rwanda 54 49 53 53 45 Jordan 53 49 45 48 45 Mauritius 53 54 52 57 45 Namibia 53 49 48 48 48 Georgia 52 52 49 52 48 Saudi Arabia 52 49 46 44 50 Bahrain 51 49 48 51 50 Croatia 51 48 48 46 IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 32 Rank Country/territory 2015 Score 2014 Score 2013 Score 2012 Score 50 Hungary 51 54 54 55 50 Slovakia 51 50 47 46 54 Malaysia 50 52 50 49 55 Kuwait 49 44 43 44 56 Cuba 47 46 46 48 56 Ghana 47 48 46 45 58 Greece 46 43 40 36 58 Romania 46 43 43 44 60 Oman 45 45 47 47 61 Italy 44 43 43 42 61 Lesotho 44 49 49 45 61 Montenegro 44 42 44 41 61 Senegal 44 43 41 36 61 South Africa 44 44 42 43 66 Sao Tome and Principe 42 42 42 42 66 The FYR of Macedonia 42 45 44 43 66 Turkey 42 45 50 49 69 Bulgaria 41 43 41 41 69 Jamaica 41 38 38 38 71 Serbia 40 41 42 39 72 El Salvador 39 39 38 38 72 Mongolia 39 39 38 36 72 Panama 39 37 35 38 72 Trinidad and Tobago 39 38 38 39 76 Bosnia and Herzegovina 38 39 42 42 76 Brazil 38 43 42 43 76 Burkina Faso 38 38 38 38 76 India 38 38 36 36 76 Thailand 38 38 35 37 76 Tunisia 38 40 41 41 76 Zambia 38 38 38 37 83 Benin 37 39 36 36 IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 33 Rank Country/territory 2015 Score 2014 Score 2013 Score 2012 Score 83 China 37 36 40 39 83 Colombia 37 37 36 36 83 Liberia 37 37 38 41 83 Sri Lanka 37 38 37 40 88 Albania 36 33 31 33 88 Algeria 36 36 36 34 88 Egypt 36 37 32 32 88 Indonesia 36 34 32 32 88 Morocco 36 39 37 37 88 Peru 36 38 38 38 88 Suriname 36 36 36 37 95 Armenia 35 37 36 34 95 Mali 35 32 28 34 95 Philippines 35 38 36 34 98 Bolivia 34 35 34 34 98 Djibouti 34 34 36 36 98 Gabon 34 37 34 35 98 Niger 34 35 34 33 102 Dominican Republic 33 32 29 32 102 Ethiopia 33 33 33 33 102 Kosovo 33 33 33 34 102 Moldova 33 35 35 36 106 Argentina 32 34 34 35 106 Belarus 32 31 29 31 106 Cote d'Ivoire 32 32 27 29 106 Ecuador 32 33 35 32 106 Togo 32 29 29 30 111 Honduras 31 29 26 28 111 Malawi 31 33 37 37 111 Mauritania 31 30 30 31 111 Mexico 31 35 34 34 111 Mozambique 31 31 30 31 IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 34 Rank Country/territory 2015 Score 2014 Score 2013 Score 2012 Score 111 Vietnam 31 31 31 31 117 Pakistan 30 29 28 27 117 Tanzania 30 31 33 35 119 Azerbaijan 29 29 28 27 119 Guyana 29 30 27 28 119 Russia 29 27 28 28 119 Sierra Leone 29 31 30 31 123 Gambia 28 29 28 34 123 Guatemala 28 32 29 33 123 Kazakhstan 28 29 26 28 123 Kyrgyzstan 28 27 24 24 123 Lebanon 28 27 28 30 123 Madagascar 28 28 28 32 123 Timor-Leste 28 28 30 33 130 Cameroon 27 27 25 26 130 Iran 27 27 25 28 130 Nepal 27 29 31 27 130 Nicaragua 27 28 28 29 130 Paraguay 27 24 24 25 130 Ukraine 27 26 25 26 136 Comoros 26 26 28 28 136 Nigeria 26 27 25 27 136 Tajikistan 26 23 22 22 139 Bangladesh 25 25 27 26 139 Guinea 25 25 24 24 139 Kenya 25 25 27 27 139 Laos 25 25 26 21 139 Papua New Guinea 25 25 25 25 139 Uganda 25 26 26 29 145 Central African Republic 24 24 25 26 146 Congo Republic 23 23 22 26 147 Chad 22 22 19 19 IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 35 Rank Country/territory 2015 Score 2014 Score 2013 Score 2012 Score 147 Democratic Republic of the Congo 22 22 22 21 147 Myanmar 22 21 21 15 150 Burundi 21 20 21 19 150 Cambodia 21 21 20 22 150 Zimbabwe 21 21 21 20 153 Uzbekistan 19 18 17 17 154 Eritrea 18 18 20 25 154 Syria 18 20 17 26 154 Turkmenistan 18 17 17 17 154 Yemen 18 19 18 23 158 Haiti 17 19 19 19 158 Guinea-Bissau 17 19 19 25 158 Venezuela 17 19 20 19 161 Iraq 16 16 16 18 161 Libya 16 18 15 21 163 Angola 15 19 23 22 163 South Sudan 15 15 14 N/A 165 Sudan 12 11 11 13 166 Afghanistan 11 12 8 8 167 Korea (North) 8 8 8 8 167 Somalia 8 8 8 8 5. Tribalism and the Unity of Autonomies The ethnic diversities that we have in Africa are diversities that have outlived the Medieval era, and the revolutions and reorganizations of the Modern epoch, the upheavals of the 19th century and the classifications of the Colonial period. If they have outlived these periods and still survives to the present era, then they must be put into consideration in every effort towards national unity and development50. Most nations in Africa evolved from tribe to nation. The word tribe is used in the sense of an endogamous group descended from the same 50 Basil Davidson, The black man’s burden: Africa and the curse of the nation-state. Spectrum Books, Ibadan, 1992, P.100 IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 36 ancestor, occupying a particular territory and possessing cultural, religious and linguistic homogeneity51. It is, therefore, very possible that if these differences are not well managed, there would be a threat to national unity52. In some cases, tribal sentiments were the product of the colonial method of administration which was sometimes defined by the divide-and –rule approach. This was very visible in British and French colonies. Thus, tribalism can be traced to Africa’s diversity and the colonial administrations. By 1960, even before colonial administration came to an end, political parties began to emerge along tribal lines, and nationalists took advantage of the sympathy of their tribes so as to check their successful rivals from other parts of the country. In Nigeria, for instance, the Northern People’s Congress (NPC), which was North-dominated was the major political party in the Northern part of Nigeria; the Action Congress (AC) of 1950, whose tribal strength relied on the Yoruba tribal group’s National Union, Egbe Omo Oduduwa (1948). In Igboland, the Eastern part of Nigeria, the Igbo National Union, as a tribal association was instrumental to the formation of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) in 1944. With the exit of the colonial government, politicians drew authentic and overwhelming support from their tribesmen. Reflecting on tribalism in Nigeria, Chinua Achebe wrote: Nothing in Nigeria’s political history captures her problem of national integration more graphically than the chequered fortune of the word tribe in her vocabulary. Tribe has been accepted at one time as a friend, rejected as an enemy at another, and finally smuggled in through the back-door as an accomplice53. This was not the case in every part of Africa. In places like Tanzania, the multiplicity of numerous ethnic groups was unified by the influence of the national movement: Tanganyika African National Union (TANU). No people can rise to an influential position in the community of nations without a distinct and efficient nationality. 6. Distribution of Political Power and National Development 51 Nnamdi Azikiwe, From tribe to Nation, p.274. 52 Nnamdi Azikiwe, From tribe to Nation, p.277. 53 Chinua Achebe, The trouble with Nigeria. Heinemann, Nigeria. 1983, p. 5 IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 37 Politics is not only about the politician, it is majorly about the people being governed; the importance of the people in the political arena springs from the fact that the politician gains his legitimacy from the people. This explains why the management of the people governed is very important, and thus, the distribution of political power in society54. This is even more important in places like Africa where diversity is in abundance, and where diverse groups are still reflecting on the rational for the colonial division of Africa into nation states without the consideration of the league of culturally and religiously diverse nations. While dealing with people of diverse local nationalities that have formed a nation, the leader must make everyone feel represented. The absence of the feeling of “It is our country”, would lead to allegiance to tribe rather than the nation. Using Nigeria as a case study, an evaluation of the 100 appointments made by President Muhammadu Buhurai since he came into office in 2015, reveals that 81 of them are from Northern Nigeria, which is only a region among other regions. This is excluding the Ministerial positions, which are statutory according to the provisions of the 1999 constitution. This research is not saying that the President has made only 100 appointments since he came into office, however, an intensive research down until October 29, 2017, reveals this. Based on the characterization of Nigeria, the appointment can be considered divisive and heavily tilted in favour of the North. This is even against the spirit of the Nigerian Constitution, which states that: The composition of the government of the federation or any of its agencies, and the conduct of its affairs must be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also command national loyalty55. No Name Portfolio State/Region 1 Tukur Buratai Chief of Army Staff Borno/North-East 2 Babagana Mongunu National Security Borno/North-East 54 Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty. Profile Books, London. 2012, pp.42-43. 55 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigerian, Section 13, Sub-section 3. IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 38 Adviser 3 Abubakar Lawal Aide de Camp Kano/North-West 4 Femi Adesina SA Media and Publicity Osun/South-West 5 Garba Shehu SA Media and Publicity Kano/North-West 6 Lawal Kazaure State Chief of Protocol Jigawa/North-West 7 Ahmed Idris Accountant General Kano/North-West 8 Abayomi Olonishakin Chief of Defence Staff Ekiti/South-West 9 Ibok-Ece Wkwe Ibas Chief of Naval Staff CrossRiver/South-South 10 Sadique Abubakar Chief of Air Staff Bauchi/North East 11 Monday Morgan Chief Defence Intel Benue/North-Central 12 Lawal Daura DG State Security Services Katsina/North-West 13 Mahmood Yakubu INEC Chairman Bauchi/North-East 14 Hadiza Bala Usman MD, NPA Kaduna/North-West 15 Paul Boroh SA Niger Delta Amnesty Bayelsa/South-South 16 Dakuku Peterside DG, NIMASA Rivers/South-South 17 Umaru Danbatta Chief Executive NCC Kano/North-West 18 Babatunde Fowler Chairman, FIRS Lagos/South-West 19 Aliyu Gusau DG, Budget Office Zamfara/North-West 20 Maikanti Baru GMD, NNPC Bauchi/North-East 21 Babachir Lawal SGF Adamawa/North-East 22 Abba Kyari Chief of Staff Borno/North-East 23 Hameed Ali CG, Nigeria Customs Kaduna/North-West IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 39 24 Kure Abeshi CG, Nig. Immigration Nasarawa/North-Central 25 Ita Enang SSA, National Assembly Akwa Ibom/South-South 26 Suleiman Kawu SSA, National Assembly Kano/North-West 27 Modecal B. Ladan Director, DPR Kano/North-West 28 Ahmed Lawan Kuru MD, AMCON Yobe/North-East 29 Mohammed Kari Insurance Commission Bauchi/North-East 30 Ibrahim Magu Acting Chairman, EFCC Borno/North-East 31 Abike Dabire SSA, Diaspora Ogun/South-West 32 Abdullahi Muhammadu CG, NSCDS Niger/North-Central 33 Winifred Oyo-Ita Head of Service Cross River/South-South 34 Aishah Ahmad Deputy Gov. CBN Niger/North-Central 35 Mary Ekpere DG, NCWD Cross River/South-South 36 Dikko AbdulRahman Chairman, BoI Borno/North-East 37 Ahmed Dangiwa MD, Federal M. Bank Kaduna/North-West 38 Melville Ebo ED, Federal M. Bank Anambra/Sout-East 39 Dankanne Abdullahi ED, Federal M. Bank Kebbi/North-West 40 Alex Okoh DG, BPE Edo/South-South 41 Ibrahim Goni CG, National Park Niger/North-Central 42 Nasiru Ladan DG, NDE Niger/North-Central 43 Saliu Alabi DG, MINILS Benue/North-Central 44 Jeffery Barminas DG, RICT Adamawa/North-East 45 Haruna Yerima DG, NISER Borno/North-East IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 40 46 Mohammed Tukur Scretary, FCC Adamawa/North-East 47 Shettima Abba Chairman, FCC Borno/North-East 48 Tunde Erukera ES, CPP Kogi/North-Central 49 Umar G. Jibrin ES, FCDA Bauchi/North-East 50 Muhammed Abdallah CEO, NDLEA Adamawa/North-East 51 Garba Abari DG, NOA Yobe/North-East 52 Sule Kazaure DG, NYSC Jigawa/North-West 53 Jelani Aliyu DG, NADDC Sokoto/North-West 54 Bayo Onanuga DG, NAN Ogun, South-West 55 Ibrahim Idril IG, Police Niger/North-Central 56 Ghaji Bello DG, NPC Gombe/North-East 57 Suleh Dunoma MD, FAAN North 58 U.S.A. Sadiq Dir, Security FAAN North 59 Rabiu Yadudu Dir, Operations FAAN Kano/North-West 60 Salisu Daura Dir, Maintenance FAAN Katsina/North-West 61 Rahimatu Aminu- Aliyu ED, Federal M. Bank North 62 Julie Okah DG, NAPTIP South-South 63 Bello Rabiu COO, NNPC Kano/North-West 64 Henry Ikem-Obih COO, NNPC South-South 65 Bello Gusau ES, PTDF Nasarawa/North-Central 66 Isiaku Abdulrazaq CFO, NNPC Kwara/North-Central 67 Isa Inuwa COO, NNPC North IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 41 68 Saidu Muhammed COO, NNPC North 69 Babatunde Adeniran COO, NNPC South-West 70 Chidi Momah Secretary, NNPC ---------------- 71 Modecal Baba Ladan Dir, DPR Niger/North-Central 72 Eberechukwu Uneze ED, AMCON Imo/South-East 73 Aminu Ismail ED, AMCON Kano/North-West 74 Ishaq Oloyede Registrar JAMB Ogun/South-West 75 Chidi K. C. Izuwah DG, ICRC South-East 76 Bolaji Owasanoye ICPC South-West 77 Lenrie Aina National Librarian Ogun/South-West 78 Charles Uwakwe NECO ----------------- 79 Umaru Maza Maza Chair, REA Kebbi/North-West 80 Damilola Ogunbiyi MD, REA Lagos/South-West 81 Sanusi Ohiare ED, REA Kogi/North-Central 82 Fola Akinkuotu MD, NAMA South-West 83 Sani Abubakar Mashi DG, NIMet Katsina/North-West 84 Abdulsalam Mohammed Rector, NCAT Kogi/North-Central 85 Akinola Olateru Commissioner, AIB South/West 86 Abubakar Rasheed EO, NUC North 87 Abdulkadir Umar ES, PPPRA North 88 Elias Nwalem RMAFC Ebony/South-East 89 Marilyn Amobi NBET South-East IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 42 90 Faisal Shuaibu ES, NPHCDA Nasarawa/North-Central 91 Umaru Ibrahim NDIC Kano/North-West 92 Uja Tor Uja NCPC Benue/North-Central 93 Isa Pantami DG, NITDA Gombe/North-East 94 Patience Oniha DG, DMO Edo/South-South 95 Nnenna Akajemeli CEO, SERVICOM Imo/South-East 96 Falashade Joseph MD, NAIC Kogi/North-Central 97 Cecilia Gaya DG, ASCON Adamawa/North-East 98 Luci Ajayi ES, LITFMB Edo/South-South 99 Lanre Gbajabiamilla DG, NLRC Lagos/South-West 100 Usman Abubakar Chair, NRC Katsina/North-West 100 Buhari Appointees and their Geographical Zones It is even more disturbing that all major security and law enforcement positions, with the exception of Chief of Defense Staff ad Chief of Naval Staff, went to Northern Muslims. This apparent inclination towards regional preferences in appointments has led to an escalation of regional and ethnic grievances in the country, manifesting in the self-determination agitations and calls for restructuring and true federalism. Igwebuike Philosophy: Implications for National Development Having studied some of the challenges to national development, the major thrust of this work is to see how Igwebuike philosophy can contribute to the discussion on national development, that is, how these challenges from an Igwebuike perspective can be addressed for the purpose of national development. Religious Fanaticism and Fundamentalism: Christianity and Islam in Africa have been associated with conflicts and violence which has dealt a terrible blow on national unity and brought untold hardships on the masses. This is partly because religion has been politicized, manipulated and militarized by unscrupulous people to fan the embers of rivalry, antagonism and ethnic IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 43 discrimination. Although both major religions have misunderstood themselves by dwelling more on their differences, Igwebuike philosophy calls for dialogue, which does not deny the significant differences between the two religions. So much energy has been dissipated on violence instead of using it for solving the problems of human suffering and other socio-economic and political challenges that face us in the eye. Igwebuike, as an indigenous philosophy calls on the adherents of both religions to focus on the things that unite them, that is, the importance of dialogue to our common humanity. Muslims and Christians have so many things in common as believers and as human beings: the adherents of both religions live in the same world, in the same Africa beset by the same socio- economic and political problems. To fight one another is to engage in a futile enterprise and more so, worsen their conditions. Both religions constitute parts of the intricate web of reality and relationships in the ontological order. Their differences is for complementarity and not conflict. Corporate Responsibility and Corruption: As corruption hinders national development, Igwebuike calls for a corporate approach in the search for a solution. It is not just the responsibility of the government but the responsibility of individuals and private institutions. In Nigeria, where corrupt leaders are viewed as heroes, Churches and mosques, where these men are welcomed and sometimes considered blessed, also have a responsibility towards the fight against corruption. Local communities also have a role to play. After serving his 13 year term in the UK over charges bordering on corruption and money laundering, the former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, arrived the Nigeria aboard the British Airways. At his home state, Delta, it was celebration, as his loyalists and notable personalities trooped to welcome home their hero. To those so-jubilating, Ibori is nothing but a man of the people. For them, Ibori is not corrupt, even though he pleaded guilty to corrupt charges in a London Court. They seem to ask: Is it not our money that he stole? Nigeria is a nation where corruption bears tribal marks? To fight corruption, the different dimensions of society must play their complementary roles. There is the need for a government that is truthful in her fight against corruption. On September 15 2005, Diepreye Aamieyeseigha, the governor of Bayelsa State was arrested in London’s Heathrow Airport and interrogated on allegations of money laundering by the officers of the London Metropolitan Police’s Specialist and Economic Crime Unit. From the airport he was taken to his house where a search was conducted and the sum of 920,000 IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 44 pounds was found. He was also charged for finding 420,000 pounds in his account and for illegally transferring 470,000 pounds to another account, making a total of 1.8 pounds56. When he was brought to court he asserted his innocence and was, therefore, granted bail pending the next court hearing. Before the fixed for appearing in court, he disguised himself as a woman and returned back to Nigeria unnoticed and continued his work as a governor; he knew he had a country where the government grants immunity to the President, Vice President and Governors. When the government protects corrupt officials, it becomes difficult to fight corruption. The Co-existence of Tribal Groups: Tribe is a universal phenomenon and not restricted to Africa. When diversity is properly harnessed, it would bring about national unity and development, however, when mismanaged can wreck national unity and development. The diversities of people, culture, language, etc., from the perspective of Igwebuike philosophy enriches the nation and could coexist in a federation; this is possible when the freedom and basic rights of tribes are protected in written and rigid constitution. For tribal diversities to be transformed into strength, the government needs to discover the circumstances which can be superimposed on the natural chains of language and culture, which has linked human beings to enable them develop a feeling of personal security and group preservation57. There is the need for a government that will concede coexistence to all linguistic groups, on the basis of equality, within a framework of political and constitutional warrantees. Such a government would protect linguistic groups and individual freedom under the rule of law and thus create an atmosphere for respect of their culture and traditions is created58. If loyalty to the nation must not be replaced by loyalty to the tribe, citizens must be provided with adequate food, comfortable shelter and a minimum level of subsistence. In this case, rulers must discover the material needs of their people. Once there is a failure in this by rulers, people will harbor grievances about political, economic and social inequalities. This will increase loyalty to tribe and disloyalty to the nation59. Leaders must do everything necessary to ensure national cohesion and unity, and that no group, religious or other forms, is perceived to be dominating the other. Leaders have the duty to ensure that they 56 Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Reforming the unreformable: Lessons from Nigeria. MIT Press, USA. 57 Nnamdi Azikiwe, From tribe to Nation, p.278. 58 Nnamdi Azikiwe, From tribe to Nation, p.278 59 Nnamdi Azikiwe, From tribe to Nation, p.278 IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 45 are not perceived to be sectional or seen to be representing one group against the others. Leaders of people of diverse religions and culture must ensure that no group feels marginalized. The Time Management: Time and development have complementary roles to play. Without time, there can’t be development, and time in the absence of development is no time at all. And so if the African has time at his disposal and fails through laziness to transform the raw material of time into development, then development would elude his grasp. More so, the African concept of time which is concrete and substantive, should be taken advantage of. Time in Africa is epochal, as it is wrapped around events and activities. According to Mbiti Africans reckon time for a concrete and specific purpose and not just in a vacuum. The African time is either time-for or time-to or time-of. What exists for the African are Phenomenon calendars, in that events which constitute time are reckoned. If time is wrapped around event, it then means that time should not be spent in idleness but in a positive activity. Moreover, the idea of complementarity in the African universe brings in the idea of responsibility towards the other in the use of time. In the responsible use of time, an African fulfils his responsibility towards the other, in the distant future or the immediate future. Every generation hands over the fruits of its labour to the next generation, and if a particular generation whiles away in laziness, then she has very little or nothing to hand over to the next generation. Why underdevelopment persists in Africa is as a result of the continuous handing over of the baton of laziness and unproductively to successive generations. Every generation that mismanages times, leaves a vacuum that becomes a burden to the next generation. Conclusion National development is about the ability of a nation to improve the lives of its citizens through various measures of improvement. From the Igwebuike perspective, this ability to improve the lives of citizens must be comprehensive, all-round and balanced. It includes all aspects of the life of an individual and the nation. It is, therefore, wholistic in approach as it full-growth and expansion of our industries, agriculture, education, social, religious and cultural institutions. While national development does not exclude personal development, there is a major difference between national development and personal development. While national development concerns a development project that goes beyond IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 46 an individual to encompass the diversities evident in nations, the second concerns the individual project of development- the self becomes the centre of focus. It is thus not surprising that issues of diversity and relationships must emerge in a discussion on national development, and usually, the fruit of such developments emerges from a skilful management of differences and the harnessing of different energies for a common goal. National development in Africa has been one of great concern and it has been plagued by a multiplicity of issues: poor political institutions and thus poor leadership, the mismanagement of time, religious fanaticism and fundamentalism, the issue of corruption, the problem of tribalism and the distribution of political power, among others. It is no new issue that today, more than half a century after independence, Africa still typifies poverty and underdevelopment. Using Igwebuike philosophy, this piece has studied the issue of underdevelopment in Africa, and strongly believes that a complimentary approach to the issue of development would bring about an enormous transformation of Africa. The presence of these problems to development and national unity is also an indication of the possibility of solutions. This work did not only discuss the problems in details, but marked out possible solutions to these problems for the purpose of achieving national development and unity among many African nations. Bibliography Basil Davidson, The black man’s burden: Africa and the curse of the nation-state. Spectrum Books, Ibadan, 1992. Bhagavan, M. R. The technological transformation of the Third World. London: Zed Books. 1990. Chinua Achebe, The trouble with Nigeria. Heinemann, Nigeria. 1983. Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty. Profile Books, London. 2012. Efeturi Ojakaminor, Nigeria’s Ghana Must Go Republic: Happenings. Ogun: Ambassador Publications. Eliot, C., The development debate. London: SCM. 1971. Ghanaian Chronicle, Progress and punctuality. Retrieved 21st Februay 2013. "http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286- 21361202_ITM. IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 47 Heidegger, M. The question concerning technology. New York: Harper and Row. 1977. Iroegbu, P., Metaphysics: The Kpim of Philosophy. Owerri: International Universities Press. 1995. Irwin Arieff, If Africa Is So Rich, Why Is It So Poor? http://www.passblue.com/2015/05/18/if-africa-is-so-rich-why-is-it- so-poor. J Nye, Corruption and Political Development: A Cost-benefit Analysis. American Political Science Review. 51. 1967. J. S. Mbiti, African Religions and Philosophy. East African Educational Publishers, 1970. Kanu Ikechukwu Anthony, Igwebuike and the logic of African philosophy. Igwebuike: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. 3. 1. 2017. Kanu Ikechukwu Anthony, Igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. Igwebuike: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. 3. 1. 2017. Kanu Ikechukwu Anthony, Igwebuike as an Expressive Modality of Being in African ontology. Journal of Environmental and Construction Management. 6. 3. 59-69. 2016. Kanu Ikechukwu Anthony, Igwebuike as an Igbo-African ethic of reciprocity. Igwebuike: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. 3. 2. 2017. Kanu Ikechukwu Anthony, Igwebuike as an Igbo-African wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. Igwebuike: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. 3. 2. 2017. Kanu, Ikechukwu Anthony, The culture of political corruption and the emergence of terrorism in Nigeria. In Mahmoud Misaeli and Rico Sneller (Eds.). The Root Causes of Terrorism: A Religious Studies Perspective (pp. 280-291). United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 2017. Kanu, Ikechukwu Anthony, Christian-Muslim Relations in Nigeria as a Religio-Political Locus Theologicus for Misericordia Vultus. Harvard Journal of Humanities and Social sciences. Vol. 3. No. 4. pp. 117-128. 2016. Kanu, Ikechukwu Anthony, Igwebuike as a Complementary Approach to the Issue of Girl-Child Education. Nightingale International Journal of Contemporary Education and Research. Vol. 3. No. 6. 11-17. 2017. IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 48 Kanu, Ikechukwu Anthony, Igwebuike as an Igbo-African Philosophy for the Protection of the Environment. Nightingale International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences. Vol. 3. No. 4. 28-38. 2017 Kanu, Ikechukwu Anthony, “The Culture of Political Corruption and the Emergence of Terrorism in Nigeria”. Sub-Saharan Journal of African Sustainable Development. 3. 7. 127-149. 2016. Kanu, Ikechukwu Anthony, Corruption in Africa and its Challenges for the Enterprise of Christian Theology. International Journal of Research in Arts and Social Sciences, Vol.4. p. 495. 2017 Kanu, Ikechukwu Anthony, Corruption in Nigeria as a Socio-Cultural Context for the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. Harvard Journal of Management Sciences and Entrepreneurship. Vol. 3. No. 5. pp. 191. 2017 Kanu, Ikechukwu Anthony, Igwebuike as an Igbo-African Philosophy for Christian- Muslim Relations in Northern Nigeria. In Mahmoud Misaeli (Ed.). Spirituality and Global Ethics (pp. 300-310). United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 2017 Kanu, Ikechukwu Anthony, Igwebuike as the consumate foundation of African bioethical principles. Igwebuike: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. 2. 2. 2016. Kanu, Ikechukwu Anthony, The culture of political corruption and the emergence of terrorism in Nigeria. In Mahmoud Misaeli and Rico Sneller (Eds.). The Root Causes of Terrorism: A Religious Studies Perspective (pp. 280-291). United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 2017. Kanu, Ikechukwu, Anthony, Symbols in African Philosophy and the Issue of Nation Building. International Journal of Scientific Research. Volume. 3. Issue. 9. 35-37. 2014 Kanu, Ikechukwu, Anthony, African Philosophy and the Issue of Development. Paripex: Indian Journal of Research. Volume. 3. Issue. 7. 1-5. 2004. Kanu, Ikechukwu, Anthony, Kinship in African Philosophy and the Issue of Development. International Journal of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education. Volume. 1. Issue. 9. 1-6. 2004. Kim, R., Development that is total and human. Origins. 11. 8. 122. 1982. Levi and Havinden, Economics of African agriculture. UK: Longman. 1982. IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 49 M. Johnston, The search for definitions: The vitality of Politics and the Issue of Corruption. International Social Science Journal 49, 1996. 321-335. Mbiti, J. African religions and philosophy. Nairobi: East African Educational, Kenya. 1970. Mordi C, & Afangide F., Corruption: Nigeria’s Existential question. The Quest. 2. 2 June 2001-July 2002. Nasir Isiaku reported by Saturday Sun News Paper on August 10, 2013. 12-13. Nnamdi Azikiwe, From tribe to Nation: The case of Nigeria. in Onigu Otite (Ed.). Themes in African social and political thought (pp. 272-280). Fourth Dimension Publishers, Enugu. 1977. Nwajiuba, The relationship between material social status and academic performance of secondary school students in Owerri Educational Zone. Med Thesis, Department of educational Foundations and administration, Imo State University Owerri. 1991. Nyasami, J. M., Philosophy of development: An African perspective: Reflections on why Africa may never develop on the western model. Kenya: Consolata Institute of Philosophy. 2010. Onwuliri, C. E.C., The Church as an agent of progress and development. In I. Onyeocha (Ed). The Church as agent of progress and Development, CIP Jubilee Essays (pp. 70-83). Owerri: Imo State University press. 2008. Oraegbunam, I. K. E. Journal of the Nigerian Philosophical Association. 5. 6. 56-81. 2009. R. Stapenhurst & S Kpundeh, Curbing Corruption: Towards a Model for Building National Integrity. EDI Development Studies, World Bank, 1999. Rodney, W., How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. Lagos: Panaf Publishing. (p. xi). 1972. Schumacher, E. F., Small is beautiful: A study of economics as if people mattered. London: SCM. 1975. Shehu Shagari, The Nigerian Standard, p. 11. November 1, 1983. South African Corruption Act no 94 of 1992. South African Government, South Africa. Stanley, C. Igwe, How Africa underdeveloped Africa. Professional Printers, Port Harcourt, 2010. The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Section 13, Sub- section 3. Federal Republic of Nigeria. Time Magazine, September 7, 1992. 40. IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3 No 6, September 2017. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of Tansian University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies) 50 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index 2016. Retrieved 28/10/17 from https://www.transparency.org/cpi2015. UNDP, Corruption and good governance 1997, Discussion Paper 3, Management and Governance Division, Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, UNDP, New York, 1997. Victor E. Dike, Corruption in Nigeria: A New Paradigm for Effective Control. Africa Economic Analysis. www.AfricaEconomicAnalysis.org. Victor, D., What is this thing called African Time? Retrieved 21 February, 2013. http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2010-01-21-what-is-this- thing-called-african-time. 2013. Wikipedia African time. Retrieved 21st February 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_time#cite_note-8.