The Metaphysics of Governance in Postcolonial Nigeria

Abstract

This study examines governance in postcolonial Nigeria using conceptual analysis and metaphysics to reveal political structure and leadership beliefs. Many studies treat governance as a technical or administrative issue, but this study contends that governance is a philosophical and metaphysical matter rooted in the human 'being'. After a conceptual as well as critical review of African nationalist ideologies, the paper argues that governance failure, particularly in Nigeria and Africa in general, is caused by an ontological disconnect and epistemic misalignment between indigenous values and the adoption of modern governance systems. Metaphysics, the philosophical search for reality and first principles, is used to explain the conditions of governance. Governance is not merely a system of processes and structures, but a reflection of the human mind's fundamental propensity towards justice, fairness, and the common good, the paper claims. Finally, it suggests that Nigeria's metaphysically informed and human- centred administration begins with education, which liberates the mind from ethnocentric and prejudiced thinking.