AMAMIHE Volume 19 Number 4 2021

THE METAPHYSICAL PROBLEM OF UNITY AND DIVERSITY AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR NATIONAL UNITY

Joseph Aye
Abstract

The problem of national unity has become a recurring decimal in national discourses. This has become so endemic that the people place more premium on their regional and tribal affiliations than they do to the country. This has created an atmosphere of mutual suspicion among the different nationalities that constitute the entity called Nigeria. As a result of this unfortunate scenario, different questions come to mind: why has our diversity become more problematic than advantageous? Why is it difficult to forge a common united front as a country? Are there common grounds to explore in our diversity for national unity? These among others form the basis of this discourse. The paper interrogates these issues from the perspective of the metaphysical concept of unity and diversity (the one and many). It is the contention of this paper that, in spite of our diversity, there are more things that unite us than divide us. Our common humanity for instance binds us more than anything that seeks to divide us. There is undoubtedly a common unity that underlies our diversity. Our diversity mirrors our unity. The paper employed the expository and analytical methods in its investigation.

Keywords: diversity, implications, metaphysical, national, problem, unity
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