GOVERNANCE OF DELTA STATE: MORAL THEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE 

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1STATEMENT OF PROBLEM 

There is always a close connection between morality and politics of a particular group of people. Infact, some people insist that politics cannot be dissociated from a moral framework.

Every human society has a set of ideas about what is good or bad, right or wrong and what is deemed to be good behavior and what is regarded as reprehensive behavior.

These notions, which have great influence on the conduct of the members of the society, are predicated upon some recognizable authority whose sanctions are accepted and obeyed. For some people, moral sanctions are derived from human society, thus, making morality nothing more than a social phenomenon. For others, common sense is the source of morality; yet others attribute morality to a religious source. Whatever the sources, moral sanctions have powers to compel obedience.

Morality has some foundations in man as a being. It is the quality of human act by which we call them right or wrong, good or bad. It is a common term covering the goodness or badness of a human act without indicating which of the two is meant.1 This work refers to morality in Delta State politics mean how ontological good are certain actions performed by those who are steering our political boat.

Since Delta State started as a political entity, we have experienced a lot of tribal politics, ethnic struggles agitations for resources control, political cum economic marginalization and above all “main inhumanity to man” through acts of embezzlement of public funds, political assassinations, and electoral malpractices. The unanswered question is why are the politicians trying to run the affairs for everybody without any structure of public morality?

St. Augustine once remarked “Remove morality from politics, what are kingdoms but a gang of criminals with the key to national treasury”.

1.2OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 

The objective of this study is presented in a coherent manner, the specific ways in which the people of Delta State conceive their social-political harmony and social ethical values. This task is seen from the ethical/moral domain of Delta State world views. It is important to remark that morals or morality ought to constitute the ontological foundations of Delta State political struggle with a view towards the enhancement of the common good which is the reason for the existence of the society.

1.3SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 

This work is significant at this particular point in time because politics in Delta State must be guided by moral principles, and considerations of the prevailing balance of power and interest. Also, idealism and realism must of necessity exist together contrary to “Nigerians” notion that the two are different words. Though must certainly flow into practice for it to work, this is why fagethey persistently pointed out that “morality is thus the product of civilized eye, which necessarily entails political organization”.

Another significance of the study lies in the fact that it aims at re-awakening the moral consciousness of Delta State political leaders. The various acts of embezzlement of public funds, state sponsored assassinations, rigging of elections and the displacement of hierarchy of value have got to stop.

An unrealistic adherence to politics without morality in this country, Delta State in particular will in no doubt, increase the abuse of fundamental human right, which virtually and almost all religious of the world condemned, and darken people’s judgment of what is good or bad.

1.4SCOPE OF THE STUDY 

This work shall be in scope limited to the role of morals in the governance of Delta State. An examination of the concept of religious morals will be discussed.

The issue of governance is closely related to politics and political structure. We shall equally examine what politics is all about before entering morals/morality to politics.

It is important to note that we shall be using ethics and morality interchangeably to mean or connote the same thing.

1.5RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 

Research methodology is a scientific way of organizing knowledge in order to get result. We shall employ initially the analytic method. This method is useful in the sense that it will enable us to penetrate into the “ontos-legus” the core or essence of morality and politics in order to comprehend it. This shall be followed by a critical method. The critical method shall enable us to evaluate more properly the umbilical hut between morality and politics. Finally, we shall apply the synthetic method to give the work “en bloc” a justifiable treatment.

1.6LIMITATION OF THE STUDY 

No work or project is without problem. This work is problematic in the sense that some people have strongly objected to the marriage between morality and politics. This group insisted that both are poles apart that politics as Machiavelli the Italian philosopher claims that it is not the means that justifies the end, rather the other way round is the truth.

Delta State politics so far seems to follow this Machiavellistic evaluation, this in no doubt present great limitation to this project. We shall attempt as the project progresses to find a possible solution to this problem.

NOTES 

E.L. Mascall, Existence and Analogy, (London: Fletcher and Son Ltd, 1966) p. ix

C.E. Ehilian, ‘Politics and Morality”, paper presented at the 5th annual convention of National Association of Religious Students, Bigard Memorial Seminary Enugu, April 1983, p. 3

A. Fagethey, Morals in Theory and Practice. Right and Reason, (London: C.V. Moshy, 1981), p. 18

K. Ayantayo, Fundamentals of Religious Morals, (Ibadan, End-time Press Ltd, loog) Back page

O. Nnoli, Ethic Politics in Nigeria, (Enugu: Fourth Dimension Publishers, 1980), p. 2

I. Asouzu, Effective Leadership and the Ambivalence of Human Interest, (Calabar: University of Calabar Press, 2003) p. 1

U. Ukam, Towards a Civilized Society, (Onitsha: Ethy Printers, 1987), p. 18

J. Osakwe, Justice and the Niger Delta Crises: Historical Analysis in Political and Social Economic Philosophy. (Benin: Berlin Press, 2002) p. 18

J. Oforchukwu, Towards a Just Nigerian Society, (Onitsha: Spiritan Publications, 1996) p. 4

J.L. Mackie, Morals: Inventing Right and Wrong, (New York: Penguin Books, 1977), p. 14