Politics and Conflict: Re-Living the Heraclitean Philosophy in the Contemporary Nigerian Socio-Political Society

Abstract

In line with the philosophy of Heraclitus on the conflict of opposites, this paper attempts an exposition of his position on conflict as the very essence of existence and necessary for change in many ramifications. The major conflicts in the Nigerian political history to wit: the Civil War, the Niger Delta crisis, the Boko Haram assaults, etc are examined in the light of Heraclitus’ philosophy of conflict of opposites. A position is established that each of these conflicts has something positive to add to the growth of the Nigerian politics, and are hence, not altogether a disaster. Thus, Heraclitus is commended for his development of the idea of the conflict of opposites as a necessary phenomenon for progress.

Keywords: Politics in Nigeria, Heraclitus, Conflicts of Opposites, Niger Delta, Boko Haram, and Nigerian Civil War.