ABSTRACT

This research is an effort to strike a balance between the reality of globalization and preservation of the Nigerian State. Due to the independence of many African states from colonialism, most African leaders and nationalists were faced with the task of fashioning a way out of the crises of identity, economy and political instability orchestrated by colonialism in Africa. In the bid to do this, some of these leaders (such as Nyerere) called for a return to the pristine African way of living which is communalistic in nature and total abandonment of all that colonialism has brought which to them were repugnant to the African way of life. Instead of this total abandonment, Nkrumah advocated for a synthesis between all that accompanied colonialism and the communalistic living of Africa; that it is better to grapple with the realities of the moment vis a vis the original African way of life. This is to enable Africans compete with rest of the world instead of leaving in self-denial and isolation. Africa today is battling with the crises similar to that experienced in the earlier years of post-independence owing to the impacts of globalization. It is no news that the world is a global village today due to the advancements in information and communication technology (ICT), international trade and economic charters and international political unions. Despite its numerous benefits in Nigeria, globalization also comes with some negatives like the bastardization of culture (resulting to identity problem), problem of technology transfer, electronic waste, economic and political instability and the like. Sequel to this, this work seeks to interpret (using the Hermeneutic method) Nkrumah's consciencism in order to draw out its implications to resolving the challenges of Globalization in Nigeria. Taking into cognizance the issues with Nkrumah's conciencism, this work concludes that through the instrumentalities of hermeneutics and eclecticism, Nkrumah's views can still be useful to moderating the influence of globalization in Nigeria in such a way that such influence will not be repugnant to Nigeria and at the same time, spurring Nigeria to compete as a major player in the global space.