RE-CONCEPTUALISING A NEW FRAMEWORK FOR CIVIL SOCIETY ENGAGEMENT IN POST-COLONIAL NIGERIA

Oluwole Kazeem SANNI; Kingsley Ekene AMAECHI

Oluwole Kazeem SANNI Durban University of Technology
Kingsley Ekene AMAECHI University of Venda, South Africa

Keywords: civil society, philosophical compass, civic engagement, fragmentation, digital technologies

Abstract

In post-colonial Nigeria, civil society actors occupy a paradoxical space. Hailed as agents of democratization, due to their involvement in the fight in the nation's pursuit of democracy, socio-economic development, and human rights campaigns pre and post-independence civil society associations remain important force for nation building. Yet, in the face of Nigeria recent social crisis (such as poverty, corruption and poor governance), civil society associations have had very limited role. Actors within previous organisations that engaged in civil society activism have in most cases become co-opted by political elites, raising critical questions about the relevance of civil society engagement in nation-building in post-colonial Africa. This paper develops a normative and practical framework for civil society engagement in Nigeria by drawing on the philosophical foundations of social contract theory, communitarianism, and deliberative democracy. The proposed framework emphasizes institutional independence, localized engagement, deliberative platforms, strategic alliances, and safeguards against elite capture. In doing so, it outlines a model of civil society that is resistant to co-optation and capable of fostering participatory governance in a fragmented, post-colonial polity.

Author Biographies

Oluwole Kazeem SANNI, Durban University of Technology

Sanni Oluwole Kazeem is a doctoral candidate at the Durban University of Technology in South Africa. His research interests include, public management, social sciences, performance measurement in the public sector, peace and conflict management, innovative health technologies, sustainable development, and urban governance, with a particular focus on the African continent.

Kingsley Ekene AMAECHI, University of Venda, South Africa

maechi Kingsley Ekene (PhD) currently works as a post-doctoral research fellow at the Department of youth in development, at the University of Venda, South Africa. Before his appointment, he worked as a lecturer at the Department of African Studies (now the Department of Arts and Social Sciences), at the same university. He has a joint bachelor's degree in Philosophy from the University of Ibadan and Pontifical University, Rome; a master's degree in Sociology of Religion (from Norwegian School of Theology and Social Sciences, Norway-MF) and a doctoral degree in Religious studies (from the University of South Africa- UNISA). He has published extensively on issues related to African indigenous business models, entrepreneurship, religious movements, violence and Gender and religion.