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John Locke’s Political Power Vis-À-vis Abuse Of Power In Nigeria
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1.2 Medieval Period
Having seen the contributions made by some
political philosophers in the preceding period, let’s now talk of the
medieval period. Here we have many philosophers to consider, as it were,
but we shall concentrate on a few of them. Among them was St.
Augustine. He was not a political philosopher as such, but contributed
immensely as far as commonwealth and social order of any organized
society are concerned. According to him, true commonwealth can never
exist if there is no real justice in the community. “Butâ€, he said,
“true justice is found only in that whose founder and ruler is Christ . .
. we cannot deny that it is the ‘weal’ of the community.â€[3] As we can
see, he is more of a theologian since he makes Christ the terminus ad
quem of man’s existence. Nevertheless his defense of commonwealth and
justice are very much indispensable in any political society. Hence for
any meaningful political society to exist there must be real justice and
commonwealth. Lack of these two principles of government characterizes
the Nigerian democracy. And these, no doubt, must have their foundation
in Christ just as St. Augustine upholds. However this justice must be
equitably distributed and maintained. This, by implication, means that
the power holders must pay attention to the citizens’ well-being; and
the citizens must not be found wanting in obedience to the leaders.
Secondly, Thomas Aquinas in his part also presented us with his doctrine
of justice which begets common good. These principles are never found
in a vacuum for they are within the reach of men with common good. For
Aquinas, the object of justice is “right.â€[4] What this means is that
every individual’s right ought to be respected. Therefore, every member
must respect his or her individual right and the right of others. On
this point Isidore opined that, “a man is said to be just because he
respects the rights of others.â€[5] Finally Aquinas concluded that
justice means rendering to an individual his right, all for the common
good of the political state.
1.3 Modern Period
From the
medieval to the modern period we have seen the contributions of some
political thinkers and their ideologies. We can see in those periods the
indispensable role of ethical values and how they contribute to the
establishment of an ideal state. It is their view that true justice
contributes to the shaping of the society, if well appreciated. However
their thought appears to be more of utopia than real, especially, when
we consider the political philosophy of Plato and Aristotle.
The
modern period could thus be seen as the high point of political theory
and ideologies. The philosophers of this period were so much concerned
with the nature of political states and their governance. They were so
much interested in how best a state could be governed through reasonable
and courageous leaders, and at the same time ensuring good relationship
among its citizens. Let’s see the political philosophy of Thomas
Hobbes, in this modern period, which was summarized in the concept,
SOCIAL CONTRACT. The “Social contractâ€, according to him, “is a contract
by which men avoid the state of nature and enter into civil
society…â€[6] But prior to this civil society man was in a natural state
that was characterized by warfare; a situation, where because of man’s
freedom, there was struggle for glory, diffidence and urge for
competition. A state of war, as opined by Hobbes, where ‘men live
without a common power to keep them all in awe; they are in that
condition which is called “warâ€. This happens when one sheepishly
follows his inclinations and dispositions. However it is in this
contract (social contract) that men surrender their powers and strength
to sovereignty to be governed and legislated for. Thus he says, “…by
conferring all their powers and strength upon one man, or upon an
assembly of men, to bear their person, to reduce all their will into
one.â€[7] This contract so enacted is called a commonwealth. The contract
establishes an absolute government. Commonwealth becomes the sovereign
to whom the people entrust their power to provide for their peace and
security. The sovereign exercises his authority by prescribing rules
where every man may know what goods he may enjoy and what actions he may
perform without being molested by any body. Summarily the sovereign
exercises the political power, hearing and deciding disputes.
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