Personhood, Ethnicity, and the Nigerian State

Abstract

One factor inhibiting national growth and development in many African states is the lack of nationalist attitude among citizens. This results from the fact that these states consist of multiple ethnic communities enjoying loyalty from their members at the expense of the state. This paper argues that the strength of this ethnic loyalty is largely influenced by the conception of person in African thought system. This conception of person maintains that personhood is essentially determined by social factors which individuals derive from their ethnic communities. The paper thus argues that, to evolve a true sense of nationalism in Nigeria and many other African states, the concept of person should be reviewed to conceptually detach the metaphysical from the normative elements of personhood. This distinction helps to deemphasize the significance of ethnic identities in the constitution of persons, thus helping to conceive of individual persons beyond the narrow lens of ethnicity.