The Common Good and Good Governance in Nigeria: A Philosophical Reflection

Abstract

There is no gainsaying that the end of government as an institution of the state is the good of the citizenry. Government is meaningful to the extent that it promotes the common good of the individuals that comprise the political state. This paper, therefore, examines the nexus between the common good and good governance in the Nigerian body — politic using the thought patterns of different social philosophers. It employs the method of textual analysis and exposition. Its epistemological value consists in its clarification of key themes in socio-political philosophy visá-vis contemporary government and politics in the Nigerian state. In conclusion, a case is made that the common good is indeed the basis of good governance. It recommends that the culture of distributive justice be encouraged in the Nigerian context as a way of promoting good governance through the instrumentality of the common good.