AMAMIHE Journal of Applied Philosophy

Currently, we are experiencing a crisis of governance in Africa. The underdevelopment of the continent of Africa is not unconnected with this crisis. This paper seeks to contribute to the discourse on the burden of governance in Africa from the prism of philosophy. The focus is on the fecundity of Bertrand Russell?s scientific government at resolving the crisis of governance in Africa and placing Africa on the path of sustainable development. The paper proceeds from a preliminary discourse on the burden of governance in Africa. Drawing lessons from Ambrogio Lorenzetti?s fresco of the allegory of good and bad government, it proceed to a discourse on the African condition within the context of governance through a discourse on Russell?s idea of scientific government to an examination of the propensity of Russell?s thought at pointing the path that Africa can follow to get out of the woods of the crisis of governance. In his The Scientific Outlook, Bertrand Russell argued that a government is scientific in greater or less degree in proportion as it can produce intended results. For him, the greater the number of results that a government can both intend and produce, the more scientific it is. The paper argued that Africa is where it is today because governance in Africa has been less scientific in proportion as it has failed to reasonably will or intend results on the one hand and produce intended effects on the other hand. By effectuating a mutual elucidation of the crisis of governance in Africa and advancing Russell?s “Scientific Government” both as a interventional philosophy as well as a model of governance for modern African states, this paper found out that historically, governance in Africa has been largely characterized by fraud and has assumed a selfish dimension that is void of altruism. The paper concludes that it is unimaginable what philosophy can do for Africa at this crisis point if African will allow philosophy to do for her, what it has done for the West

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