Journal of African Studies and Sustainable Development

This paper examines an unsettling question: at what point does the exercise of governance cross the line into genocide? The paper observes how state power when misused or exercised negligible, creates conditions that threaten the life, dignity and survival of certain communities by using Nigeria as a case study. While genocide is often understood as mass killing, this paper broadens the perspective to include structural violence, predictable harm and institutional neglect, emphasizing the moral and ethical responsibilities of governments. Philosophical method of normative analysis is employed in this paper to clarify the conceptual foundations of genocide, governance and state power, to identify the ethical thresholds where governance risks becoming destructive and to propose strategies for accountability, reform and prevention. The paper argues that governance becomes morally impermissible when it selectively exposes its population to harm, fails to uphold equitable protection and institutionalizes structural neglect. The paper emphasizes the lived consequences of policy decisions and highlights the urgent need for ethical, accountable and preventive governance in diverse societies like Nigeria.

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