Plato’s Republic is one book that most have heard about, but only few could claim to have critically engaged and understood its significant arguments, intentions and insights. The socioeconomic reality of Plato’s Athens is comparatively similar to that of postcolonial Nigeria. This is where Plato’s blueprint for a Republic founded on justice becomes a reform dynamics that holds immense lessons for Nigeria. It is this realization that fired my imagination after reading Plato’s Republic at first. Unlike Plato’s aversion to democracy, Awolowo had a vision of Nigeria as a democratic, economically self-reliant, welfarist and politically united nation.

Source: The Guardian February 18, 2019 03:22 UTC