Political Violence and State Culture in Nigeria

What is it about?

This paper attempts to explain political violence in Nigeria from the perspective of state culture. It argues that central to the prevalence of political violence was the failure of indigenous political leaders to dethrone pre-colonial state cultures and colonial values that promoted violence after independence, which allowed the continuity of violent political heritage. It further argues that by constructing the modern state on political heritage that tended to promote division and disunity, state leaders facilitated the emergence of a state that is perpetually at war with itself. The result is the widespread violence and instability that characterised the Nigerian state.

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