THE QUEST FOR RECOGNITION IN A MULTICULTURAL STATE: A STUDY OF WILL KYMLICKA’S VIEW AND THE NIGERIAN STATE

Chidiebere Obi, Charles Chukwuedo Nathaniel, David Chinomso Orji

Abstract


The geographical enclave called Nigeria assumes a multicultural dimension which highlights diversity among nationals. This diversity over time has fostered marginalization and discrimination thus hindering the quest for national integration which represents the necessary ingredient for sustainable development. The efforts of Nigerian governments over-time to eradicate or ameliorate the damaging effects of this disintegration have practically yielded no result to the point that the continuous unity of Nigeria has been termed elusive on the account of this. This disintegration is basically triggered by perceived marginalization and the subsequent fight for identification and recognition in the politics of the day among the plural Nigerians, thus establishing a cat and rat relationship amidst Nigerians. It is on these findings that the paper implores the conception of normative multiculturalism by Will Kymlicka that explicitly ensures fairness, recognition and equality among people of multicultural societies, as a means of projecting unity in diversity through the explication and instrumentality of the good of culture as panacea to this problem.

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References


W. Kymlicka, Multicultural Citizenship: A Liberal Theory of Minority Right.P. 81. 2. W. Kymlicka, Politics in the Vernacular: Nationalism, Multiculturalism, Citizenship, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001) p. 222. 3. Ibid. p. 246. 4. W. Kymlicka, Finding Our Way: Rethinking Ethnocultural Relations in Canada. P. 131. 5. C. Taylor, Multiculturalism and the Politics of Recognition, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992) p. 29. 6. J. Raz, “Multiculturalism: A Liberal Perspective†in Dessent, Vol. 4, (1994). P. 52. 7. W. Kymlicka, Multicultural Citizenship: A Liberal Theory of Minority Rights, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995) p. 101.

W. Kymlicka, Liberalism, Community, and Culture, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989) p. 175. 9. Ibid. p. 176. 10. W. Kymlicka, Finding Our Way: Rethinking Ethnocultural Relations in Canada, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998) p. 31. 11. W. Kymlicka, Politics in the Vernacular: Nationalism, Multiculturalism,Citizenship, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001) p.38. 12. Ibid. p. 39-41. 13. Ibid. p. 226-229. 14. W. Kymlicka, Finding Our Way: Rethinking Ethnocultural Relations in Canada, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998) p. 60. 15. Loc.Cit. 16. Ibid. p. 65. 17. Ayodeji, “Nigerian’s Cultural Tapestry and the Challenge of Developmentâ€. Nigerian Academy of Letters Convocation Lecture University of Lagos, (2013). Pp. 1. 18. Ibid. p.3. 19. A.H.M. Kirk-Green, “The Poeples of Nigeriaâ€. Journal of African Affairs, 1 (1996). P. 262. 20. T. Falola. P. 120. 21. Ibid. p. 126. 22. Ibid. p. 128. 23. E. Ojo, “Federalism and the Search for National Integration in Nigeriaâ€. In African Journal of Political Science and International Relations. Pp. 389. 24. S.C. Ugoh, W.I. Ukpere, “Policy of the Federal Character Principle and Conflict Management in Nigerian Federalismâ€. In African Journal Business Management, vol. 6(23) (2012). Pp. 6777. 25. https//www.youtube.com, A video Interview of Late Premier of the Northern Nigeria, Ahmadu Bello on Northernization Policy; as accessed on 30th June, 2018. 26. W.Kymlicka, “Multicultural States and Intercultural Citizens†in Theory and Research in Education, (London: Sage Publications, 2003), vol. 1(2), p. 157.


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