ABSTRACT

The problem of massive socio-political and economic corruption in Nigeria bring to the foreground the need for moral rebirth or re-evaluation. The concept of Ubuntu in Ramose, as an African holistic humanism elicits the need for African brotherhood and the need for the enthronement the summun bonum of the people in Nigeria. Nigeria as a country has been bedeviled by a myriad of fundamental politico-developmental malaise that impede its development. Given the above, this paper proposes that the concept of Ubuntu if well natured and nurtured could serve as a springboard for responsible governance in Nigeria. It also adopts the analytical framework in discussing the contemporary and the politicoepietemological relevance of Ubuntu to the Nigerian democratic setting. The findings of this paper is that the concept of Ubuntu requires the need for democratic accountability, common engagement and effective leadership structure that is people-oriented. It is a reflection of African holistic humanism. This arises from the fact that Ubuntu is not based on the Western notion of individualism but fundamentally inspired by the principle of African communalism. Thus it concludes that the concept of Ubuntu presupposes an ontological, metaphysical and politico-epistemological imperative for African politics and development.