THE UBUNTU PHILOSOPHY, AFRICAN DEMOCRATIC HERITAGE AND DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

Sixty-two years after gaining Independence from the British colonial government with promises of socio-economic development by the founding fathers, Nigeria is faced with a Plethora of development challenges. Minority issues, religious conflicts, ethnic politics, resource control, youth unrest, and the related crisis of disintegration of the productive sector, food insecurity, social insecurity, deterioration of physical and social infrastructures, a drop in living standards and poverty for millions of Nigerians, and a general disenchantment with the political system are all symptoms of these larger problems. Some pertinent questions are, why is Nigeria still struggling to develop and failed to address the poor living standard of citizens. Why has leadership not able to meet the development challenges, and what are the measures that can ensure effective leadership? Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to analyze the country’s problems vis-àvis the implementation of the Ubuntu philosophy and the African democratic heritage in governance and leadership that would ensure the country’s socioeconomic and political progress. The social development theory is adopted as a guide for the paper