THE ENLIGHTENMENT ERA AND EXCLUSIONISM IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Some scholars have argued that Europeans are Africa’s problem while others argue that Africans are their own problems. One of such problems facing Africa and Nigeria particularly is exclusionism (lack of inclusion) which call to question human basic nature: is it good or evil. Previously, Nigeria conducted its presidential election on February 25, 2023. The election witnessed lack of inclusion on the basis of party affiliation, ethnicity, location, and religion. It becomes pertinent to examine the basis for exclusionism and the role of philosophy of the enlightenment era in the practice of exclusionism globally but in Nigeria particularly. This paper aims to identify the origin of (some form of) exclusionism in Africa within the context of Nigeria. Critical analysis is applied as a method in arguing that although the enlightenment philosophers emphasized exclusionism, the concept had existed among Europeans and traditional Africans before colonization. The paper on this ground posits that exclusionism is part of human nature and this arises in the quest for power and control, to identify oneself as superior and the ‘other’ human being as inferior. This work highlights colonization's unspoken consequences and explains why philosophical traditions of China, India, Africa, and America were ignored.