GODFATHERISM, DEMOCRACY AND REFLECTIVE DEFENSIBILISM

Abstract

The connection between Godfatherism and Democracy continues to generate heated debate and conversations in political theory, science and philosophy. There are the schools of the “Indefensibilists’” and “Defensibilists”. The basic objective of this paper is the defence of the contention that Godfatherism is needed to promote sustainable democracy when and where Godfatherism exhibits and exudes certain varieties in a democratic order like Nigeria. The methodology adopted consist of critical exposition and argumentation. The findings of the paper are: (1) godfatherism remains a significant aspect of any democracy; (2) theoretical and practical argument against the necessity of godfatherism in a democracy derives from a negative perceptions about the utility of godfatherism; (3) however, there are ways and manners in which the necessity of godfatherism to a democratic dispensation, like the Nigerian case, can be defended; (4) the defensibility of godfatherism to the democratic experiment in Nigeria derives from the benefit and advantage provided by the practice and culture of reflectivity; (5) any defensible position inheres in the advantage that the philosophical temperaments provides in the understanding of the politics and practice of democracy and godfatherism. The paper concluded that as long as godfatherism manifests defensible traits in a country like Nigeria, sustainable democracy can be promoted.