The Place of African Traditional Values in National Integration: The Case of Nigeria
Abstract
The romanticization of western values, its hegemonic pretensions and the latest internationalization of communication replaced a hitherto stable African traditional indigenous society and her values with a wobbly one, thereby raising questions about the rationale behind its preference. This study therefore aims to identify the roles African indigenous traditional values play in the achievement of national integration. Among others, it exposes its culture base and discusses the merits of employing the services of African traditional values in fostering Nigerian national unity, which is presently waning. The study also examines the place of language in social integration and the challenges facing these traditional values. In order to forestall further social disintegration arising from the neglect of these values, this study concludes by taking a leaning on Paulo Freire’s concept of conscientization and suggests what this paper calls a conscientization consciousness approach. This refers to a process by which, in the manner of moral crusaders, the wealth in African traditional values is canvassed so that the young appreciate and embrace their significances to the ordering of their society, Moreover, it refers to the need to welcome the meritorious aspects of other foreign values, which can be fused with African traditional values to drive sound national integration and development.
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