Education as a Tool of Liberation from Corrupt Leadership in Africa
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Africa is currently facing many challenges, such as drought, poverty, moral corruption, political
turmoil, negative ethnicity, economic dependence among others. This paper is an analysis of how political
leaders contribute to political turmoil in Africa. Both Plato and Nyerere view education as a tool for liberation.
Education liberates a person from the chains which constrain him or her against participation in matters of
decision making in a participatory democracy. In the allegory of the mountain, Nyerere notes that an educated
individual is a self-reliant person who can be creative and productive within the humanity for the common good
of the community. He does not isolate himself but is able to liberate others from ignorance through education.
For Plato, an educated person possesses not only knowledge but also political wisdom as a philosopher-king.
Such a person applies political wisdom in reforming education for the common good of society. The two
metaphors or analogies of education of Nyerere and Plato are analyzed comparatively to tease out lessons for
Africa to transcend the challenge of inept political leadership. This paper use the method of conceptual analysis
to argue that education for liberation is the panacea to Africa‟s aridity of poor leadership.
Keywords
Africa, education, liberation, leadership, Plato, Nyerere, allegory, tool