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The Recognition Of Aristocracy Of Knowledge By Jim I Akhere Ph.D. USA.
The philosopher king doctrine first proposed by one of the greatest minds the world has ever known-Aristotle posits that those who must rule must be knowledgeable people-id est that the king should be a philosopher, that acquisition of knowledge should be a prerequisite to seeking to govern. This proposition which this writer has strongly advocated in another piece is most appropriate for Nigeria
It will surprise people of other countries to know that Nigeria, which does not have a dearth of thoroughly educated people, has not had the privilege of being ruled by a president or head of state who is University graduate since her independence in 1960.The interregnum of Sonekan in 1993 is discounted and rightly so as he was a fleeting stooge of the military as those power usurpers were figuring out to whom among them to pass on the baton of rulership. The fact that the country has not been ruled by a roundly educated president/prime minister since independence more likely than not is responsible for the political, economic and ethical national travails our dear country has gone through since its birth. It is a well known truism that the values held dear by educated minds are poles apart from those extolled by not-so-educated minds.
The recent declaration by our current president that come 2007,he will be going back to school coupled with the post presidency decision of Dr. Yakubu Gowon to go back to school and acquire a terminal degree is an eloquent testimony that the leaders realize the pride of place of education in the affairs of men. It is almost an injunction that those who aspire to rule should strive to arm themselves with knowledge and it is also a piece of advice that those of us privileged to belong in the philosophers’ club should not belittle ourselves by prostituting ourselves and groveling before those in authority telling them what they want to hear only to get money. To those of us in that category I say ‘You have what money cannot buy. You have knowledge which is power. You are kings’
There is no substitute for education. It is the best and fairest thing that the best of minds can ever have It is acquired piece meal. It is not achieved by sudden flight. It is like the building of a house-stage by, stage one layer upon another. Hence the values it imbues are sound and lasting. It can be explained as follows:
It is not acquired sporadically nor is it acquired spasmodically. It has an enduring influence on man’s reasoning. It imbues rationality in man. It makes taste of the tree of knowledge of the omniscient. It gives man a taste of the Divine. Shakespeare is not remembered and revered today because he was materially wealthy. Isaac Newton was not a millionaire yet he is spoken very frequently to this day. Albert Einstein is not spoken of today for his material wealth but for his wealth in the head. These men among very many other thinkers are remembered and revered today for their ideas. Ideas rule the world and they can only be acquired through a deliberate effort to train the mind. One is confident that if Dr. Gowon had acquired his education prior to his presidency he certainly would have done better as Nigerian head of state when money was not Nigeria’s problem. One can also say with a high degree of certitude that an Obasanjo before his prospective educational pursuit as he is now, will not favourably compare with a post presidency thoroughly educated Obasanjo. It does not matter what course he decides to read for in intellectual circles we have come to recognize that knowledge is a complex whole and any attempt to narrowly compartmentalize it is inherently futile
This writer is not guessing about the theses espoused in this piece This is because as a holder of a terminal degree in law, who has taught and practiced law in Nigeria for several years and who has also taught law in universities in the diaspora for a considerable length of time his expertise is not in doubt. Having served during the second Republic as a commissioner in Bendel State of Nigeria under Professor Ambrose Alli of blessed memory ,an accomplished academic who put together a team of commissioners of highly educated and dedicated individuals, this writer can testify to the magic that can be performed by working with the right values, with altruistic motives which can only occur when mundane motives are banished by higher ideals which come from properly trained minds. The legacies of Prof Alli’s regime abound not only in the former Bendel state but the world over. Not too long ago this writer bumped into a young lady who accosted him reminding him that she was in one of the four colleges of education of which the writer was chairman in the then Bendel state of Nigeria before his appointment as commissioner between 1999 and 2004. To the writer’s eternal joy the young lady revealed that she has earned a terminal degree and she now works for the Canadian government.
Those who seek to rule in Nigeria especially as president should first be philosophers. This is an imperative in a developing country like Nigeria where standards and systems are not yet fully ingrained, where the military has done untold damage to democracy and democratic values, where time honoured principles of governance have given room to personality cults. Even though this is not strictly needed in developed countries because of their established standards and systems, there have been deleterious effects flowing from the occasional emergence on the saddle of governance of not so sound rulers in developed countries. It goes without saying therefore that we should insist that only those who are philosophers (thoroughly educated people) should aspire to the high position of president.
Those who do not qualify under the criteria enunciated here know themselves .They should steer clear. The zone is unsafe for them It will expose the truth ingrained in the Peter principle of promotion beyond their level of competence and their unfortunate ascension to power will portend untold danger of hardship and deprivation to the teeming population of Nigerians of their right to live decent and honourable lives in decent environments.
In advocating knowledge as a prerequisite for rulership in Nigeria especially in respect to the position of president, this writer is not unmindful that knowledge is not acquired exclusively through formal education. Quite a handful of people have through voracious and consistent private reading acquired sound knowledge. One can easier find a pin in a stack of hay than come across a more knowledgeable professor of political science than that doyen of politics in Nigeria-Chief Tony Enahoro who has no first degree in political science. People like him are simply geniuses who are sui generis hence the insistence on i some form of sound formal education in this piece .A president should be able confidently on occasions to speak meaningfully ex-tempore on diverse issues, or be in a position to edit or correct written speeches to suite situations or not make an inexcusable faux pas on the international scene inter alia This is possible only if that president has a well trained mind. Only a thoroughly trained president can appreciate that trained and refined diversity, which is an indispensable ingredient of democracy, is better than crude and uninformed uniformity, which to the untrained mind is an article of faith. |