The Libyan Revolution: Philosophical Interpretations

Libya, one of the notable African countries was engulfed in political crisis in February 2011. The protests were targeted towards the draconian rule of one of Africa’s longest reigning despots, Muammar Gaddafi who ruled Libya for forty two years without showing any sign of relinquishing power until the avoidable bloody uprisings eventually claimed his life. This paper chronicles the Libyan revolution and X-rays its philosophical importance. It is of the strong view that the greatest political challenge facing many African countries today (including Libya) is the inability of its political leaders to see politics as an opportunity to render selfless service to the masses through political governance. This singularly accounts for the reason behind so many unfortunate dictatorial tendencies in governance in some of these African countries. The issue of sit-tightism in office as aptly exemplified by Gaddafi is indeed a worrisome development not only to Libya but also to some other African countries that share the same unfortunate and better forgotten political experience with her. The paper strongly believes that the Libyan revolution should indeed serve as a serious warning signal to other African leaders who share Gaddafi’s retrogressive leadership philosophy of holding tenaciously to power to the detriment of their countries and their helpless citizens whom they hold in brazen perpetual political captivity.