MANAGING DIVERSITY IN NIGERIA: INTERROGATING THE DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES OF A PLURAL AFRICAN STATE
MANAGING DIVERSITY IN NIGERIA: INTERROGATING THE DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES OF A PLURAL AFRICAN STATE

Summary/Abstract: This paper interrogates the development challenges of a plural African state by studying the managing of diversity in pluralist Nigeria. The case study country is the most populous state in Africa and the sixth most populated nation in the world. The structural makeup of the country, with over 250 ethnic groups and more than 500 spoken languages, exemplifies national diversities and plurality. Plural society tensions constitute one of the most debilitating world problems that diminish collective human potential. The embedded domestic frictions also invariably translate to the stunting of regional and global development. The purpose of the study is to investigate how the management of plurality and its associated diversities relates with national development in plural societies. The work adopted the documentary research methodology by consulting extant literature, which entailed the examination of book contents, perusal of journal articles, studying of official government publications and online materials. The investigation found a position of mismanagement of plurality and diversities in the case study country which leads to functional deformities. Political elite corruption was central to this scenario. The implication of the study’s findings is that such assumed national and regional problems occasioning plural society tensions which actually contribute to retarded global progress have remained unaddressed. A further significance of the study’s results is that with political elite consciousness and altruistic contributions, plural states with presumed fatal diversities can fully transform into developed and unquestionably modern societies.

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