Nigeria and the Deficit of National Cohesion: Exploring the Political Philosophy of a Third Culture in the Post-Centennial Era

Abstract

AbstractThis exercise that straddles political philosophy and philosophy of culture is to constructively dialogue with the hitherto deficit of national cohesion in Nigeria in the post-centennial era. Employing the research methods of conceptual mapping, critical analysis, reflective argumentation, and historical data, the work advances as its problem statement that the deficit of national cohesion in Nigeria has been a fundamental issue for a long time, which has manifested in various ethnic and religious conflicts in society, taking the conflictual phenomena as the core of the deficit of national integration. The thesis statement of the study is that, if the post-centennial Nigeria is to achieve any substantial national cohesion in the midst of ethno-religious pluralism, then a form of third culture (TC), a culture of positive integration of the essentials of the self culture (SC) and the other culture (OC) ought to be conscientiously developed among Nigerians. But, to successfully develop this third culture, its philosophical dimensions, that is, its epistemology, ethics, metaphysics, and logic must be explored and made intelligible to all. Therefore, a systematic exposition of the philosophical dimensions of the third culture and the process of ultimate realization of their prescriptions constitute the goals of the present study.