AMAMIHE Journal of Applied Philosophy

It is an obvious fact that Nigeria as a country is a diverse society and therefore this diversity is considered to be an integral part of its existence. Hence, the reflection of the “Federal Character” principle in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria since 1979, seeks to ensure that political appointments and other relative appointment to the public service institutions fairly reflect the linguistic, ethnic, religious, and geographic diversity of the country. The federal character principle ought to have brought about an inclusive government; but nonetheless this has degenerated the Nigerian society into a hub of prejudices and sentiments in every quarter of our structural endeavor. Thus, applying the federal character principle within the contextual application towards the realization of justice and fairness has disrupted the meritocratic basis for effectiveness and efficiency. This paper argues that the federal character principle has not contributed to good governance in Nigeria. As such, the intent of Plato?s eugenic breeding is to create a meritocratic base system of appointments devoid of linguistic, ethnic, religious and geographic sentiments. This becomes the basis for justice and fairness. Citizenship becomes the standard to effectively seek the common good that will constitute the process of the realization of justice and fairness; rather than making divides as a necessary characterization of our polity. This paper methodologically implemented the qualitative research to explore and deconstruct the intention of Plato?s eugenic breeding not as a biological exploration towards sexual orientations but breeding in the sense of selection and recruitment in the political process known as „social-eugenics?.

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