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Etymologically the term “politics” is derived from two Greek words; “Polis” meaning state and “Techne” meaning craft, art, method or skill. The word “Politics” is very ambiguous and has numerous conceptions attached to it.

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The relations of the individual members of society with one another, that need regulation of government when a body of people is clearly organised as a unit to purpose of government, then it is said to be politically organised, so politics may be defined as the science concerned with the state and of the condition co-essential to its existence and development ⁴.

Politics arouses a thought of such activities as political parties, electoral campaigns, elections, etc. A more profound reflection reveals that nearly none of the pre-colonial societies associated themselves with these activities of today‟s politics. Politics, is that which one cannot claim ignorant of. And in line with this, Odey writes, “if you claim that you have nothing to do with politics, whether you like it or not, politics will surely have something to do with you… it will very often hold you to ransom”.¹ Following this line of thought, it is still obvious that in spite of what we do to avoid politics in our everyday lives, it still has a lot to do with us.

Politics therefore serves not as a personal affair or a private property as people often see it to be, rather, it is a public function which is intended to order the society and for the perfection of man‟s social nature without exceptions.

In the words of Udoekpo, politics is “the art of organising men in a society to live and interact with each other to the full realisation and actualisation of their social nature”.² Nwoko in his work,

“Basic World Political Theories”, defines politics as: “the science of power, of government, of authority, of command, all human societies not only in the national society” ³. On his part, Appadorai in his Substance of Politics, defines politics as:

From the above, we can infer that men require the institutionalisation of their social structure such as the establishment of legal and government systems to facilitate this

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interaction. These institutions in turn organise and consolidate the people for law as a defined independent sovereign territory, a political society or a state.

On the other hand, Ejizu in his own contribution, defines politics as: “a dynamic process that entails the mobilisation of human and other resources, managing, directing and enforcing the affairs of public policy and decisions towards the regulation of social order⁵.

Politics therefore, is for the good of everybody without exception. It is not a personal affair or a private property rather, it is a public function which is intended for the perfection of man‟s social nature and as such orders the society. It is not an avenue of amassing and looting the wealth of the nation at the expense of the poor masses as seen in Nigeria.

Today, the word “politics” makes many people uncomfortable because of the connotation it carries. For some people, politics is a “dirty game” and politicians “dirty people”. It has then become a term of abuse for the activities of those who engage in its function. Even our politicians themselves not only attest to this fact but also stress that it is a game of money and numbers. This misconceived notion is brought about by the attachment of corrupt practices to politics. Also, commenting on the wrong notions of politics, Onyeocha observes that: “Politics has gotten a rather pejorative sense when referred to any activity of humans” ⁶. By the above it means that, if you tell someone that

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he or she is bringing politics into this matter, he or she will feel as though you have accused him or her of a heinous crime.

In the social and political thought, there are also variety of popular views about the meaning of politics. Among such ideas or views is one made by Niccolo Machiavelli. He singled himself out by separating politics and morality. Politics became for him the art of conquering and keeping power by all means as he writes,

“politics is seen as the blind irrational and immoral thirst and struggle for power. It involves the gross abuse of morality” ⁷.

Over the years, it is indisputable that Nigerian politics has been devoid of morality while corruption has become the greatest bane of our politics. Baring his mind on this, Udoekpo observes that; “Since Nigeria was introduced into an independent parliamentary system of government, no military or civilian leader, governor or head of state has become devoid of an electoral ritual of graduating ceremonies in schools of corruption and fraud” ⁸

A critical look at the above promptly reveals that our politics has been viewed by some political leaders to be synonymous with corruption, crime, and deceit which does not in any way foster a healthy national politics.

Politics is for the good of man and hence perfects man‟s social nature and right orders in the society. Politics for Pope John Paul II is not only a unifying but also the prudent concern for the

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common good ⁹. That means that the end of politics is to direct man towards the attainment of the good. Politics therefore is to mediate and stand in for the demands and interest of the various groups within its jurisdiction.

Finally, politics therefore is that which serves to establish order, justice and equity in various social groups. Hence, political aspirants should try and understand that politics aids in protecting the right and privilege of a minority and at the same time, it also serves as a tool for unifying everyone into a community of friends.

Politics must be safe-guarded from corrupt practices.