Nigeria and The Common Good
Excerpt from Something to Believe in: Religious Surrender and the Decline of Problem Solving in Nigeria. Originally posted Sept 1, 2018
The common good can simply be explained as a system that works equally for all. As Nigerians and Africans we used to take pride in the fact that we come from close knit communities that care for one another. We like to claim we look after family and raise our children together. With the understanding that it takes a village to raise a child, everyone is involved in the welfare of the individuals that live in the community. Well, look around you today, does your community still reflect those traditional African values?
Over the last few decades we have gradually become a narrow, self-absorbed society that is more focused on the wants of the individual. We claim to be highly religious and ‘morally upright’ yet the level of crime, corruption and deceit continues to increase as we spend more time on our knees praying. Unfortunately, the more we spend time praying for our individual salvation, the more we have neglected our fellow human beings and the communities we come from.
We have stopped paying attention to the collective goals of the society and allowed the things that divide and separate us take deeper roots in our minds. We seem more in competition than in alliance with one another and lost sight of our shared humanity and the force/power that working together can generate.
The idea of The Common Good, has been around for thousands of years, and has been the guiding principle of any society that has progressed and provided a good quality of life for its inhabitants. Under one name or another, the common good has been a recurring theme throughout the history of political philosophy. Early conceptions of the common good were set out by Ancient Greek philosophers, including Aristotle and Plato.
For Plato, the best political order is the one, which best promotes social harmony and an environment of cooperation and friendship among different social groups, each benefiting from and adding to the common good.
Aristotle used the idea of "the common interest" as the basis for his distinction between "right" constitutions, which are in the common interest of the people, and "wrong" constitutions, which are in the interest of rulers.
Saint Thomas Aquinas held "the common good" to be the end of law and government. (That is, the ultimate function and responsibility of government)
John Locke declared that "the peace, safety, and public good of the people" are the ends of political society, and further argued that "the well-being of the people shall be the supreme law".
David Hume contended that "social conventions" are adopted and given moral support in virtue of the fact that they serve the "public" or "common" interest.
James Madison wrote of the "public," "common," or "general" good as closely tied with justice and declared that justice is the end of government and civil society.
And Jean-Jacques Rousseau understood "the common good" to be the object of a society's general will and the highest end pursued by government.
This were great philosophers and thinkers of their time who influenced the ideas behind human interaction and helped to create societies we admire today. With examples of thriving nations around us, and the role played by the citizens (not just their leaders) in contributing to sustained growth through collective action and working together, how do we not see the cognitive dissonance of claiming to be so religious yet unable to keep the most important command of love - towards our neighbors, community members and our nation?
We are admonished to “Be your brother’s keeper” but in practice we’re selfish, greedy and too impatient to focus on things that does not benefit us or grant us immediate monetary reward. People always quote the Bible as the reason why they go to church, that they have been commanded to commune with their brethren. Yet, as they congregate and enthusiastically clap hands together, they are far removed from one other, each feeling separate and different.
Our increasing self-centeredness makes us unable to empathize with what our neighbors are going through, the level of suspicion and distrust we show to one another has denied us the opportunity to communicate freely with members of our communities - an essential to nation building.
People are able to build great communities when they come together, look out for one another and work towards a common purpose. It is harder for those that seek a selfish end, to get away with fraud and crime that destroys their society, because togetherness encourages accountability.
In an age of globalization, where other people are talking about developing artificial intelligence and space exploration, our focus as the most populous black nation should not still be on how to provide its citizens with basics like steady power supply, security or clean portable water to homes. These are problems that shouldn’t take a genius to solve.
In our midst are citizens with great ideas on how to solve these problems and bring about the kind of development we want if we just learn to give them the forum to express their ideas, patiently listen to them and provide opportunities for sustained implementation of those good ideas. We need to let go of our selfishness and greed that is fueling the corruption in Nigeria, it’s hasn’t helped us in any way. We should be focused on our communal human development, helping and encouraging others to grow intellectually, extending love and compassion to all.
So, are you willing to dialogue with your fellow citizens and offer a patient listening ear, to be tolerant of their viewpoint with a determination to improve relations? Can we hold conversations on things like leadership and personal accountability, environmental protection, connectivity and what it takes to achieve communication expansion, proper resource management, development of renewable energy, advanced technology and inclusive growth? All the things we see in modern societies and desire for ourselves