Niccolò Di Bernardo Dei Machiavelli’s Indifference to Morality and its Catastrophic Effects on Nigerian Democracy

Abstract

This paper takes a look at Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli’s indifference to morality and its catastrophic effects on Nigerian Democracy. Machiavelli’s critical argument is that morality should be separated from politics. There has been arguments from some scholars that morality and politics are inseparable and to do so is to do the impossible. The problem
is that by placing much importance on how to acquire and retain power by fair or foul means as portrayed by Machiavelli’s position, he relegated morality to the background and this has resulted in moral decadence that bedevils Nigeria today. To give this work a deserved explanation, we adopt analytic method. The findings of this work are that (1) Machiavelli was a realist and not an idealist; (2) that he was interested in presenting things the way he saw them and not the way they ought to be; (3) that he was pragmatic over morality and how to make society better for the rulers and not essentially for the ruled. This has made Nigerian politicians to excessively attach themselves to material things. The work proffers solutions to the political predicaments in the Nigerian democracy arguing that Machiavelli’s indifference to morality has done a great havoc to democracy in Nigeria and for democracy to function effectively in Nigeria; a
centripetal movement to morality should be adopted. Nigerian leaders should grip on morality tenaciously in the sense that democracy works with morality