INTRINSIC VALUES AS A DETERMINANT OF A NATION'S DEVELOPMENT: A CASE STUDY OF THE 2023 NIGERIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Abstract

The 2023 Nigerian Presidential Election served as an important watershed in the nation’s clamour for development and the actualization of intrinsic values that underpin its socio-political framework. The election witnessed each Presidential candidate representing a spectrum of ideologies, each advocating for various intrinsic values such as integrity, transparency, and inclusivity. Voters’ determination was largely displayed by the determination to vote for that candidate capable of ending the pressing challenges that had bedeviled the nation for so long, including corruption, insecurity, indiscipline, infrastructure deficits, and moral decay. This paper examines the intricate synergy between national development and the intrinsic values adopted by the different Presidential candidates and the electorate. This paper concludes that the nation's successful development rests on the alignment of political leadership with sincere fundamental values respected by its citizens, especially the family, schools, and teachers who have been classified as the true agents of change. This paper having reviewed the values and the roles that the different state actors must play in achieving national development in Nigeria recommends that the values imbibed by a nation must be upheld by political leaders, citizens and all the agents of national values without fear and favour, all in pursuit of a sustainable national development.