Subjectivity and ethnocentric leadership approaches in tackling the Nigerian question

Abstract

Subjectivity has been an all-important concept for academic research, as well as used as a tool for intervening in social and political life of a people, since the 1960s and 1970s. The idea of subjectivity had a catalytic impact in changing the terms of the debate in History and Social Sciences, postcolonial theory, gender studies, cultural and media studies, social theory, and the other disciplines in the humanities. Subjectivity which relates to the quality of possessing perspectives and experiences, feelings, beliefs, desires, and power employed in the attempt at explanation for what influences, and informs people’s judgment about truth or reality. In this paper, we shall attempt to examine the role of leaders of the Nigerian state in tackling the challenges/problems faced by the various sections of the Nigerian polity. These problems include, religious crisis, marginalization, resource equity, among others, and they constitute the National question. The paper concludes that the difficulty in answering the Nigerian question, to a large extent, result from the influence of subjectivity in viewing and tackling these problems by successive leaders emerging mainly from the majority tribes of the country.

Keywords: Subjectivity, Leadership, Nigerian Question, Ethnocentrism