DYSFUNCTIONAL EQUILIBRIUM AND VIOLENCE IN THE SOCIOPOLITICAL THOUGHT OF FRANCIS FUKUYAMA: A HERMENEUTIC OF SOCIAL INEQUALITY IN NIGERIA
Social inequality has remained a serious challenge that has characterized the Nigerian polity most of the times of her existence. The amalgamation of the Southern and Northern protectorates into a single sovereign Nigeria is a creation of a contraption where the North feels superior to the South. It has also become a country where the political elites are masters to the ordinary masses who position as their slaves. This problem is fueled by three complementary phenomena that constitute a core part of the Nigerian nationhood- religion, ethnicity and politics. How can Nigeria combine the trio in one polity in such wise that they engender equity? It is the position of this paper that Francis Fukuyama’s notion of dysfunctional equilibrium accounts as the foundational cause of social inequality in Nigeria. Negating Fukuyama’s resort to violence as possible panacea, the paper argues that with the spirit of patriotism founded on positive national consciousness, Nigeria stands to overcome the challenges of social inequalities.
Keywords: dysfunctional, equilibrium, francis, fukuyama, hermeneutic, inequality, nigeria, social, sociopolitical, thought, violence