Machiavellianism in Nigeria Politics: Implications for Peaceful CoExistence and National Development

Machiavelli put forward a political theory that divorced politics from morality. This is evident in his seminal political work, The Prince. Different states have, at one time or another, put different political theories into practice and while some proved workable, others did not. A careful look at the activities and policies of most political actors in Africa, especially Nigeria will reveal that they manifest overt Machiavellian orientation. This paper identified and critically assessed the various ways by which Machiavellianism has manifested itself in the actions and policies of varying governments in Nigeria. It argued that the separation of morality from politics by political actors in Nigeria has undermined every effort at ensuring peaceful co-existence and national development as a nation in more ways than it has encouraged them. Peaceful coexistence and national development require the interplay of politics and morality. To ensure that governance oriented towards this end is enthroned in Nigeria, this paper suggested ethical training and retraining for aspiring and existing political leaders, respectively. This paper argued that doing this would help our leaders to always look beyond themselves in their actions and decisions. This paper did not however argue that Machiavellianism is the only reason for lack of peaceful co-existence and national development in Nigeria.