JURGEN HABERMAS’ CONCEPT OF COMMUNICATIVE RATIONALITY AS A SOLUTION TO ETHNIC AND RELIGIOUS BIGOTRY IN NIGERIA’S SOCIO-POLITICAL MILIEU

Abstract

Nigeria as a country is ravaged by the tension and crises engendered by ethnic and religious bigotry. This reality manifests in various forms of ethno-religious conflicts experienced across the nation. Many thinkers who seek solutions to Nigeria’s predicaments usually emphasize the best system of government to adopt, the best economic structure to implement, or the best leadership style to apply. Arguably, these thinkers do not lay enough emphasis on the key role of rational communication in attaining understanding and consensus among the diverse peoples and ethnic groups in Nigeria. Using the method of phenomenological exposition and philosophical analysis, this paper argues that Jürgen Habermas’ idea of communicative rationality offers a rational framework through which individuals—irrespective of ethnic or religious differences—can reach understanding and consensus without resorting to violent conflicts or destructive revolution. Habermas’ communicative rationality is a form of communication geared toward achieving, sustaining, and reviewing consensus based on validity claims that are open to intersubjective recognition and criticism. It is a process through which different validity claims are brought to satisfactory resolution under an “ideal speech situation,” which allows individuals the freedom to express their views and make rational arguments without fear, coercion, or intimidation. In other words, Habermasian communicative rationality points the way to peaceful coexistence among the peoples of Nigeria, a necessary condition for the country’s social and economic development. The contributions of this paper include the revival of academic discourse within the epistemic community with emphasis on the essential role of rational communication in achieving peaceful coexistence; the promotion of a culture of communicative rationality among the various ethnic groups in Nigeria; and the institutionalization of rational communication across diverse spheres of interaction—including politics, the economy, religion, culture, and academia.