This paper attempts to draw a correlation between poor governance as a result of power politics a... more This paper attempts to draw a correlation between poor governance as a result of power politics and corruption and Nigeria's problem of underdevelopment. African leaders generally have shown no foresight in their ideas of governance and thus the so much awaited dividends of democracy have been unattainable. In the days of military rulership, soldiers have always come to power via the use of force and violence. Power-drunk rulers have always neglected the principles of democracy for their selfish interest and that of their cohorts or that powerful cabal that sustain them in power. Nigeria is a good example of this experience. Good policies have always been short lived due to political instability; no regime wants to continue with the programmes of the ousted regime even when such programmes are good and beneficial to the country, thus the slogan 'soldier go soldier come'. The military regimes are ruthless and accountable to no one, and no members of the public want to ask questions about how they are being governed so as not to be incarcerated. The political rulers who are supposed to be closer to the people are not in anyway close. As soon as elections are won, the political class becomes dethatched from the people that voted it in power and the interest and aspirations of the masses are neglected for that of the group of people that sustains it in power. When the people do not participate in the system of government that has been defined as 'government of the people, by the people, and for the people', the 'by the people' phrase in the definition becomes jeopardized thus; poor governance takes the center stage. Power politics and corruption have made it impossible for Nigeria to develop for huge amount of state money meant for welfare and developmental purposes are with a few past and present leaders.
1. Introduction Myth is an account of a creation. It is the dramatic breakthrough of the supernat... more 1. Introduction Myth is an account of a creation. It is the dramatic breakthrough of the supernatural (sacred). It is breakthrough that establishes the world and makes it what it is today. Prehistoric culture attempts to answer certain questions about reality-how did the world come into being? How do we explain man's position in the world? Who is responsible for creation and also why should evil and good both patronize man's way? There is no culture the world over that has not passed through the stage of explaining things mythologically. Before the advent of philosophy, that is, before Milesian philosophers, events were explained from mythologico-theological perspectives. The reasons for rainfall, rainbow, the alternating nature of Day and night, the starry sky etc, were given mythological explanations. Certain gods or other supernatural beings were believed to be behind the happenings and the nature of the universe, and more importantly, mythological stories were coined to make man able to comply with moral laws and live happily with people in the world he has found himself. Even after the Milesian philosophers, myth continues to play a major role in the effort to understand and explain the nature of the universe. Plato's allegory of the cave was a good example of mythological explanation of the nature of reality. The concise Oxford English dictionary defines Myth as a purely fictitious narrative usually involving supernatural persons…….. and embodying popular ideas on natural phenomena i. According to Geertz (1979), myth is conceived to serve as a unifying concept which enables anthropologists to talk about etiological narratives which, for the societies involved, make a body of assumed knowledge about the universe, the natural and supernatural world and man's place in the totality ii. The Yoruba myth of creation which identifies the role of Olodumare, Orisa nla and Ajala in man's creation are regarded as the basic belief of the people about the creation of man. In Yoruba, myth are regarded as history-'itan'. Ifa narratives are regarded as 'itan'. It is myth that gives the Yoruba whatever knowledge they have today of the world. The Ifa corpus serves as a guide in tracing realities from the past through the present into the future. In Yoruba myth of creation for example,' ara' (the human body) is believed to be the handiwork of Orisa nla (or Obatala) the creator divinity, who is responsible for moulding lifeless human form. Olodumare (God) consequently puts 'emi' (breath), regarded as the Deity' breath of life, into the formed body. Before leaving 'orun' (heaven), the human being goes to Ajala's store of heads to chose an 'ori' (head, which symbolizes destiny). It must be noted, however, that this 'ori' (head) refers to the spiritual or metaphysical element in human person and usually feature in discussions of the immaterial aspect of the human person. In Yoruba thought, the human head 'ori' is very important both as a physical and as well as a spiritual element that is regarded as the symbol of the whole person iii This Yoruba myth of creation is peculiar to them. Other cultures all over the world have theirs too. But the main point of the antagonists of African philosophy is that mythological explanations of reality are not tenable because they are characterized with irrationality. The main problem here is that they view this from cross – cultural perspective. This Yoruba creation story, at least, tells
This paper attempts to draw a correlation between poor governance as a result of power politics a... more This paper attempts to draw a correlation between poor governance as a result of power politics and corruption and Nigeria's problem of underdevelopment. African leaders generally have shown no foresight in their ideas of governance and thus the so much awaited dividends of democracy have been unattainable. In the days of military rulership, soldiers have always come to power via the use of force and violence. Power-drunk rulers have always neglected the principles of democracy for their selfish interest and that of their cohorts or that powerful cabal that sustain them in power. Nigeria is a good example of this experience. Good policies have always been short lived due to political instability; no regime wants to continue with the programmes of the ousted regime even when such programmes are good and beneficial to the country, thus the slogan 'soldier go soldier come'. The military regimes are ruthless and accountable to no one, and no members of the public want to ask questions about how they are being governed so as not to be incarcerated. The political rulers who are supposed to be closer to the people are not in anyway close. As soon as elections are won, the political class becomes dethatched from the people that voted it in power and the interest and aspirations of the masses are neglected for that of the group of people that sustains it in power. When the people do not participate in the system of government that has been defined as 'government of the people, by the people, and for the people', the 'by the people' phrase in the definition becomes jeopardized thus; poor governance takes the center stage. Power politics and corruption have made it impossible for Nigeria to develop for huge amount of state money meant for welfare and developmental purposes are with a few past and present leaders.
1. Introduction Myth is an account of a creation. It is the dramatic breakthrough of the supernat... more 1. Introduction Myth is an account of a creation. It is the dramatic breakthrough of the supernatural (sacred). It is breakthrough that establishes the world and makes it what it is today. Prehistoric culture attempts to answer certain questions about reality-how did the world come into being? How do we explain man's position in the world? Who is responsible for creation and also why should evil and good both patronize man's way? There is no culture the world over that has not passed through the stage of explaining things mythologically. Before the advent of philosophy, that is, before Milesian philosophers, events were explained from mythologico-theological perspectives. The reasons for rainfall, rainbow, the alternating nature of Day and night, the starry sky etc, were given mythological explanations. Certain gods or other supernatural beings were believed to be behind the happenings and the nature of the universe, and more importantly, mythological stories were coined to make man able to comply with moral laws and live happily with people in the world he has found himself. Even after the Milesian philosophers, myth continues to play a major role in the effort to understand and explain the nature of the universe. Plato's allegory of the cave was a good example of mythological explanation of the nature of reality. The concise Oxford English dictionary defines Myth as a purely fictitious narrative usually involving supernatural persons…….. and embodying popular ideas on natural phenomena i. According to Geertz (1979), myth is conceived to serve as a unifying concept which enables anthropologists to talk about etiological narratives which, for the societies involved, make a body of assumed knowledge about the universe, the natural and supernatural world and man's place in the totality ii. The Yoruba myth of creation which identifies the role of Olodumare, Orisa nla and Ajala in man's creation are regarded as the basic belief of the people about the creation of man. In Yoruba, myth are regarded as history-'itan'. Ifa narratives are regarded as 'itan'. It is myth that gives the Yoruba whatever knowledge they have today of the world. The Ifa corpus serves as a guide in tracing realities from the past through the present into the future. In Yoruba myth of creation for example,' ara' (the human body) is believed to be the handiwork of Orisa nla (or Obatala) the creator divinity, who is responsible for moulding lifeless human form. Olodumare (God) consequently puts 'emi' (breath), regarded as the Deity' breath of life, into the formed body. Before leaving 'orun' (heaven), the human being goes to Ajala's store of heads to chose an 'ori' (head, which symbolizes destiny). It must be noted, however, that this 'ori' (head) refers to the spiritual or metaphysical element in human person and usually feature in discussions of the immaterial aspect of the human person. In Yoruba thought, the human head 'ori' is very important both as a physical and as well as a spiritual element that is regarded as the symbol of the whole person iii This Yoruba myth of creation is peculiar to them. Other cultures all over the world have theirs too. But the main point of the antagonists of African philosophy is that mythological explanations of reality are not tenable because they are characterized with irrationality. The main problem here is that they view this from cross – cultural perspective. This Yoruba creation story, at least, tells
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