




































AQUINO VOLUME 2 ISSUE 2 DECEMBER 2022 FOR PDF


Abstract

Arguably, ethnocentrism remains a bane to unity and development in Nigeria. Whereas 
some blame it on colonialism and bad governance, this paper, however, contends that 
ethnocentrism is a product of a negative mindset in most Nigerians, which must to be 
corrected for any better experience in social relations to hold. In view of this, the paper 
examines the negative mindset that undergirds the ethnocentric attitude in social 
relations in Nigeria. It explores the potential of the Taoist Yin-Yang philosophical 
principle of complementarity in view of re-orienting the mindset of Nigerians along the 
more positive lines of complementary mode of thought and existence. It concludes with 
the view that this principle has much to offer the Nigerian society at this critical time, as 
its ideals of complementary consciousness and mutual co-existence of things, are 
essential for effective management of our ethnic diversity. The paper adopts critical 
method of research.

Keywords: Taoism, Yin-Yang principle, Ethnocentrism, Consciousness, Nigeria.

Introduction
Arguably, the fabric of the Nigerian society is increasingly being ripped apart by the lethal 
force of ethnocentrism. This has largely manifested itself in the politics of ethnic 
domination, economic exclusion and ethno-religious crises that have engulfed the nation. 
Today, many Nigerians are strangers in their own country, without much rights, and 
privileges. Matthew Kukah laments that, “due to politics of ethnic domination, there has 
been a total loss of sense of belonging to the Nigerian state by Nigerians” (2003, p.41). 
Given this sad situation, the socio-cultural and political harmony and growth of the 
country has predictably remained elusive. In consequence, the country has been 
hemorrhaging from bitter ethnic rivalries, socio-political upheavals, ethnic agitations and 
threats of secession, economic imbalance, terrorism and banditry, and poverty. 
Some thinkers, however, tend to blame the problem of ethnocentrism in Nigeria on 
colonialism and bad leadership (Nnoli, 1980, p.35). However, I consider such factor as 
mere external manifestations of a much deeper cause of ethnocentrism. Hence, attempts 
to address this challenge with such factors in view, has the likelihood of dealing with 
symptoms other than the root of the problem. For the problem to be effectively tackled, it 
must be addressed from its primary root cause. In view of this, this paper argues and 
justifies the position that, ethnocentrism is rooted in a negative mindset that is typically 

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THE CHALLENGE OF ETHNOCENTRISM IN NIGERIA AND 
THE YIN-YANG PRINCIPLE OF COMPLEMENTARITY

ETUK, Anthony R., Ph.D.
University of Uyo,

Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.
ORCID id: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7708-9061.



absolutist and exclusivist. It further explores the potential in the Taoist Yin Yan's 
philosophy of complementarity, in view of re-orienting the mindset of Nigerians with the 
needed complementary modes of thought and existence, needed to attain of ethnic 
harmony and mutual co-existence in Nigeria. 

Conceptual Clarification: Ethnocentrism

The term ethnocentrism derives from two Greek words: "ethnos", meaning nation, and 
"kentron", meaning center (New World Encyclopedia). Literally the term means an 
emotional attitude that considers one's nation as the centre of the universe. According to 
Ludwig Gumplowicz “ethnocentrism is the reasons by virtue of which each group of 
people believed it had always occupied the highest point, not only among 
contemporaneous peoples and nations, but also in relation to all peoples of the historical 
past” (qtd. in Hofman, and Alexander Kovalev, 1989, p.84).  defines ethnocentrism as, 
“the technical name for this view of things in which one's own group is the center of 
everything, and all others are scaled and rated with reference to it” (1978, p.13). In this 
line of thought, R. Buhlman, explains that “ethnocentrism absolutizes one's own culture, 
one's way of living with a strong sense of superiority and a corresponding dislike or 
misunderstanding of other groups” (1992, p.59). 

From the foregoing definitions, it is obvious that ethnocentrism is any culturally biased 
judgment or attitude, rooted in the belief in one's ethnic culture's superiority, and 
contempt for others. It is an attitudinal error involving an exaggerated sense of self-
importance or centrality of one's ethnic cultures or belief. It represents profound cognitive 
failure to understand the relativity of conceptual schemes, and, by extension, cultures, 
and beliefs of others on their own terms (Motyl, 2000, p.152). Ethnocentrism is often seen 
as “the main source of regional, inter-state and inter-ethnic conflicts in Africa, and it 
promotes struggles over resources through social exclusion and ethnic violence” 
(Fayemi, 2021, p.177). It is also at the heart of , stereotyping, discrimination, or 
xenophobia in the world. It has become a major challenge to the unity and development in 
Nigeria as Joseph Ebegbulem observes, “politics of ethnicity and regional domination is 
the major source of political crises in Nigeria” (1998, p.77).

Ethnocentrism and the Nigerian Experience
Ethnocentrism has remained a festering sore manifesting its devastating impact on 
Nigeria's socio-political and economic development. It shows up basically in the politics 
of ethnic domination of the minorities by the majority ethnic groups, ethnic tensions and 
mutual suspicion among the country's diverse ethnic nationalities, economic and political 
marginalization. Historically, the geographical area known as Nigeria was created by the 
British colonial administration with the 1914 amalgamation of the Southern and Northern 
Protectorates. In that process, the over 250 ethnic nationalities, who hitherto, lived 
separately and independently of one another, were brought together to form the country 
for the administrative convenience of the colonial masters. Among the major ethnic 
groups in Nigeria are Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo; while the minority ethnic groups include 
Ibibio, Efik, Igala, Tiv, Jukun, Urhobo, Ijaw, etc. Some scholars consider this 
amalgamation factor as responsible for ethnocentrism in Nigeria because, “it which took 

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place without the involvement and consent of the ethnic nationalities” (Nnoli, 1980, 
p.35); and more so, because, “the colonial politics and economic policies tended to 
benefit the elites of dominant groups at the expense of less influential ethnic minority” 
(Fayemi, 2021, p.180). 

However, in 1939 when Sir Bernard Bourdillon introduced federalism in Nigeria, he 
divided the country into provinces and regional councils along the three major ethnic 
groups in the country. On the basis of this political arrangement, which was later 
solidified in the 1950s, legislative assemblies were set up at the regional and federal levels 
(Udoidem, 2000, p.24). For Ogu and Anthony (2022, p.22), “this division of the country 
along ethnic lines produced regional tensions, suspicion and rivalry among the three 
major ethnic groups: the Hausa-Fulani in the North, the Yoruba in the West, and the Igbo 
in the East”. It is also argued that with this arrangement, “ethnic-based party politics 
emerged in Nigeria, and the minority groups rebelled and Nigerians started fighting for 
ethnic dominance as they marched towards Independence” (Osaghae, 2002, p.58). 
The largest ethnic groups in each region – the Hausa/Fulani, Yoruba, and Igbo in the 
Northern, Western and Eastern regions respectively – came to dominate their respective 
regions as well as contested for power at the federal level. Within each region, ethnic 
minorities often opposed the political domination of the larger groups, and as a result, 
they felt increasingly alienated from the political process. Thus, the struggle for political 
independence was ab initio reduced to the quest for ethnic dominance; and ever since, the 
post-colonial Nigerian society has largely been defined by ethnic politics, religious 
factionalism and the struggles by the minority groups for political and economic 
inclusion, representation and self-determination against the domination and exclusion by 
the majority ethnic groups.   

This ethnic tension and distrust in the country, were projected in the emergence and 
formation of political parties along ethnic and regional lines, which fought bitterly over 
the control of the nation's resources during the first Republic. The North led by Sir 
Ahmadu Bello, formed the Northern People's Congress (NPC); the East led by Dr. 
Nnamdi Azikiwe, formed the National Council of Nigeria and Cameroons (NCNC), later 
transformed into National Council of Nigerian Citizens (when Southern Cameroon left 
Nigeria in August 1944); and the Yoruba led by Chief Obefemi Awolowo, formed the 
Action Group (AG). Falola and Matthew assert that “those parties that had control over 
the assemblies were able to distribute government resources among themselves, 
supporters, their regions and ethnic groups, and equally were able to deny these resources 
to their opponents” (2008, p.165). 

The politics of ethnic domination and ethnic conflicts was at play in 1951, during the 
Regional Premiership elections, when Awolowo used the ethnic maneuver to out-stage 
Nnamdi Azikiwe in his bid for the Premiership of the Western Region (Udoidem, 2000, 
p.25). Wole Soyinka says that, “Obafemi Awolowo 'stole' the government from him 
(Azikiwe) in a broad daylight” (1960, p.63). Azikiwe, returned to the East, where he 
compounded the problem by causing the overthrow of then Premier of the Eastern 

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Etuk           The Challenge of Ethnocentrism in Nigeria and the Yin-Yang Principle...



Region, Professor Eyo Ita, a politician from the Efik minority ethnic group and leader of 
the NCNC government in the Eastern Region. He eventually expelled Eyo Ita from the 
NCNC. This was considered an affront on the minority tribes of the Southern part of the 
country. Eyo Ita, however, left the party and formed the National Independence Party, 
“which became the embryo movement for the minorities of the Eastern Region, 
challenging Igbo domination of the region and demanding regional status for the 
homelands of these ethnic minorities” (Lloyd, 1968, p.288). These early acts of ethnic 
politics, were to serve as refence points to subsequent political activities in Nigeria, and 
their domino reactions have since turned Nigeria into “a perpetual ethnic memory 
syndrome, infected with insidious orgy of betrayal and revenge” (Udoidem, 2000, p.25). 
Furthermore, the Parliamentary elections held in the country in 1959, resulted in victory 
for the NPC, which won 134 of the 312 seats. The NPC, however, formed a coalition 
government with the NCNC that governed at the federal level, but which eventually 
became dominated by the NPC, and which under the leadership of federal Prime Minister 
Balewa, undertook  many measures specifically to improve the condition of the Northern 
Region and northerners within the federation (Falola and Matthew, 2008, p.166). The 
NPC-led government regularly handed out appointments and promotions to northerners 
at the expense of more qualified southerners in an effort to bring about greater parity 
between the regions in the public service sector. According to Falola and Matthew, “from 
1958 a quota system had determined admissions to the military: 50 percent of military 
recruits were to come from the Northern Region and 25 percent each from the Eastern and 
Western Regions” (2008, p.166). Policies such as these were believed to have infuriated 
southerners, who saw their hard- won skills disregarded by a federal system that 
increasingly seemed to value ethnicity over merit. 

The domineering ethnic competitions and regional tensions heightened during the 1960s, 
and led to the overthrow of the civilian democratic regimes by several military officers 
from 1966. This was the first Military Intervention in politics, which unfortunately 
worsen the situation, because “this time, ethnicity had become militarized” (Ekanem, 
2003, p.82). The military had the northern hegemony in place with the greater percentage 
of officers being from the Northern extraction in comparison to other regions in the 
Country (Gutteridge, 1969, p.22). All these led to the gruesome ethnic-driven Civil War 
from 1967 to 1970, when the Eastern Region attempted to secede from the Federation and 
establish the sovereign state of Biafra. 

The Second Republic which resumed in 1979, was even more heavily characterized by 
this syndrome of ethno-regional politics and struggle for ethnic domination. The 
Northern People's Congress, which transformed into National Party of Nigeria (NPN), 
had basically northern founders, who largely sought and represented the interest of the 
dominant Hausa/Fulani in the North. The newly formed Unity Party of Nigeria by Chief 
Awolowo, which replaced the Action Group in the West, sustained the ideals of the Action 
Group to secure the interest of the dominant Yoruba in the West. In the East, the new party, 
Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP), which replaced the NCNC, was founded by Dr. Nnamdi 
Azikiwe and his loyalists, to secure the interest of the Igbos. The spirit of ethnocentrism 

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that these new parties re-awakened at various levels across the country, led to the collapse 
of the Second Republic with another era of military intervention in politics.

The annulment of the 1993 election won by a southerner, Chief MKO Abiola, was also 
considered to be due the politics of ethnic hegemony (Ekanem, 2003, p.81). In the Fourth 
Republic which witnessed the return to civil rule in 1999, the incidence of ethnic-oriented 
politics manifested in the activities of the Action Congress (ACN), dominated mostly by 
the Yorubas of the Southwest; all Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), dominated mostly 
by the Igbos in the Southeast; the Congress for Positive Change (CPC), dominated mostly 
by the Hausa-Fulani of Northern Nigeria. The People's Democratic Party (PDP), also 
largely under the Northern hegemony. The current ninth Republic and All Progressive 
Congress (APC) – led government under President Muhammadu Buhari, which took 
office since 2015, is also, arguably under the Hausa/Fulani Northern hegemony, as 
strategic appointments in politics and security agencies are largely skewed in favour of 
people of this ethnic group. This has heightened ethnic suspicion and tension in the land, 
animating the current agitations for ethnic self-determination among the Igbos in the East 
and Yorubas in the West, as well as the demand for a Southern President in the upcoming 
2023 general elections. The politics of ethnic domination and the struggle against 
economic exclusion is also responsible for the minority rights agitations of the people in 
the Niger Delta (Fayemi, 2021, p.181). Like other minority groups, the oil minorities of 
the Niger Delta have historically felt shortchanged by the revenue allocation model of the 
federal structure, which has left their communities exploited and underdeveloped, even as 
they bear the burdens of environmental degradations due to oil production (Fayemi, 2021, 
p.181). Sequel to this, many armed militancy groups have emerged in the Niger Delta 
Region. 

Ethnocentrism also plays out in the high degree of religious intolerance and violence 
between the Muslims and Christians in the country. The ethno-religious crisis between 
the two has almost split the nation into smithereens, leaving wanton destruction of lives 
and property at its wake. It started in Kano with the Maitatsine riot in the 1980s, when 
some Muslim fanatics declared war against Christians, whom they regarded as “war 
against infidels” (Etuk, 2011, p.37). The riot that ensured from this act created a 
nationwide hysteria, which eventually claimed over 4,177 lives. This set the template for 
the many other the ethno-religious violence and conflicts between followers of the two 
religions that have since engulfed the country. The situation is further compounded today 
by the emergence of the Islamic terror group, Boko Haram and its splinter group, ISAWP 
(Islamic West African Province) in the North Eastern part of the country, who in their 
primarily quest for the Islamization of the country since have adducted, raped and killed 
thousands of Nigerians since 2007. 

For instance, on February, 2018, Leah Sharibu, a 14-year-old Christian student of the 
Government Girls Science and Technical School in Dapchi, Yobe State, was abducted 
along with 109 other girls by the splinter group of the Boko Haram, ISWAP. While other 
104 girls were later released (apart from the five of whom were reportedly killed in the 

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Etuk           The Challenge of Ethnocentrism in Nigeria and the Yin-Yang Principle...



abduction), Leah was held back because she refused to abandon her faith in Jesus Christ 
and convert to Islam as her abductors wanted. Till date she is still in the captivity of her 
abductors. Also in May 12, 2022, Nigerians woke up to the shocking news of the 
gruesome murder of a young Christian student, Deborah Samuel in Sokoto. Deborah, a 
student of the Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, was stoned, flogged and burnt 
to death by her Muslim classmates, who claimed she had blasphemed against the Prophet 
Mohammed for attributing her success in her examinations to Jesus Christ in the class 
online group chat. Little is done by the government of the day to arrest and prosecute her 
murderers. 

Another area of significant area where the challenge of ethnocentrism is currently facing 
Nigerian politics is the recent attempts by the government of the day to allow the 
Hausa/Fulani own cattle settlements in every part of the country including lands that 
belong to other ethnic nationalities. The Rural Grazing Area (RUGA) settlements planned 
for implementation under the Buhari-led administration presumably aimed at resolving 
the recurring conflict between farmers and nomadic herders, has been one of the most 
recent major controversies of ethnic conflicts in Nigeria. Most ethnic groups have 
expressed gross repugnance towards this scheme and risen against it. However, reports 
show that the Federal Government is insisting on making the scheme a success though 
another plan called National Livestock Transformation Plan. This scheme is seen by 
critics as “a calculated attempt to ensure the dominance of the Fulani ethnic group by 
spreading their reach across all parts of the country as thus gradually establishing political 
strongholds” (Fayemi, 2021, p.183). 

The Root of Ethnocentrism
Clearly, for some thinkers, ethnocentrism is caused by such factors as colonialism and bad 
leadership in the country. For instance, Nnoli contends that “ethnocentrism and tribalism 
are the legacies of British colonialism” (1980, p.32). In Fayemi's view, “the post-colonial 
expressions of marginalization and domination of minority ethnic, religious and cultural 
groups are often a continuation of the ethnic, class and caste hierarchies established under 
colonial rule” (2021, p.180). However, it is my view that these factors or quality of social 
relations are themselves deficiency conditions and external manifestations of a more 
deep-rooted or ultimate cause of ethnocentrism. What then is the root of ethnocentrism? 
In answering this question, it is good to reference the fact that, social relation is nothing 
but an external expression of the internal state of man. That is, our thought pattern 
basically determines the nature of our social relations. James Allen says that “…as the 
plant springs from, and could not be without the seed, so every act of man springs from the 
hidden seed of thought, and could not have appeared without them” (1992, p.145). 
Innocent Asouzu captures this point more succinctly when he states that, “the way we 
relate to the world and the people around us depends on the way we conceptualize reality. 
The way we conceptualize the human person, for example, determines the way we relate 
to other human beings” (2007, p.333).  Etim and Adekunle also affirm that, “the mind 
actively provides the platform for social relations as what we think we know determines 
what we think we should do” (2016, p.59). 

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Based on this fact, a critical assessment of the definition of ethnocentrism, which is, 
“absolutizing one's own culture, with a strong sense of superiority and a corresponding 
dislike or misunderstanding of other cultures” (Gotan, 2006, p.58), yields that truth that, it 
is an attitudinal behaviour that is ultimately rooted in a negative mindset that is typically 
absolutist and exclusivist in nature. Such a mindset, elevates or exaggerates the sense 
importance and primacy of the individual or his group in the universe of beings, and so, 
seeks absolute attention and privileges above others, while it also denigrating other 
beings to the status of mere accidental and dispensable existence. Within such a mindset 
or consciousness, what appears as contraries or different to the individual and his ethnic 
culture, is seen as a contradiction, and an irreconcilable opposite that cannot cohabit, but 
must be manipulated, suppressed or eliminated by all means. Such a consciousness 
manifests itself in social relation in the form of ethnocentrism, as is the case in Nigeria. 

From Ethnicity to Ethnocentrism
Naturally, every human being has that ambivalent mental tendency or consciousness to 
secure his interest first or to identify with his or her ethnic group. This is occasioned by the 
challenges of primitive instinct of self-preservation, which we share with other lower 
creatures. This natural tendency is called ethnicity; and it is good, positive and intrinsic in 
every human being. Asouzu considers ethnicity as a fundamental characteristic of the 
human nature. For him, “the tendency to ethnic cleavage has a dimension that is natural to 
human nature but which can easily be misappropriated and manipulated (2013, p.64). For 
Anselm Etokakpan “ethnicity is never a negative concept…Ethnicity evokes a unity of 
persons, language, tribal marks, cultures, customs, religion and even a particular way of 
responding to natural demands” (2006, p.88-89). 

However, as Azousu indicates above, ethnicity can easily be abused and manipulated in 
such a way that it leads to negation of the interest and identity of other people. When this 
happens, it becomes ethnocentrism. Cletus Gotan captures it this way, “while ethnicity, as 
a concept per se, is not negative, it can easily be abused and allowed to degenerate into 
ethnocentrism” (2006, p.58). In other words, while not being a negative factor per se, 
ethnicity has an inherently ambivalent dimension, whereby while serving it may serve a 
good purpose in the society, it can also be dangerously abused as an instrument of 
oppression and suppression of others, as it is unfortunately the case in Nigeria. In the face 
of such ambivalence, authentic existence entails the capacity the capacity to equilibrate 
this ambivalence and tension in a way that ensures mutual co-existence with all members 
and the society as a whole. Those who exhibit the ethnocentric tendency are those who 
simply fail to manage this ambivalence well. They are those who rather recourse to 
extreme and polarizing measures of always interpreting situations only to their own 
advantage and ignoring outrightly the interest of other stakeholders in the system. Such 
mindset becomes absolutist by assuming that one's own ethnic worldview or interest is 
superior to, or more correct or normal than all others, and constitutes the only frame of 
reference from which all other cultures, practices, behaviours, beliefs, and people, 
practices can be understood and judged, as is the case in Nigeria.

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Such mindset also becomes exclusivist because it sees other ethnic worldviews, interests, 
culture or as contradictories with which it can never coexist or be reconciled.  Within such 
a mind-frame, human existence is perceived as a ceaseless struggle between 
irreconcilable opposites, especially when contest for scarce resources is involved. One 
with such negative mindset is likely to elevate anything that helps one uphold an edge 
over others (e.g., population, geographical location, gender, race, tribe, etc.) to essential 
categories and seek absolute attention and privileges above others. In the same measure, 
one is likely to denigrate other people that stand on one's way to mere accidental 
dispensable categories. Any social relation or political structure that driven people of such 
mindset, is bound to be domineering and oppressive of others, polarizing, and seeking of 
parochial interest at the expense of others. Such negative mindset is the root cause of all 
ethnocentric behaviours in our country. 

Taoist Philosophy and the Yin-Yang Principle
Taoist philosophy refers to the various doctrines of the Indian philosophical school of 
Taoism, which ultimately, emphasizes living in harmony with the Tào (Dào: 'Way') – a 
cosmic force believed to flow through all things, binds and releases them (Mark, 1). 
Taoism is often traced to the mythical philosopher, Lao Tzu (c. 500 BCE). According to 
the historian Sima Qian (145-86 BCE), Lao-Tzu, was a natural philosopher, who believed 
in the harmony of all things and that people could live easily together if they only 
considered each other's feelings in their actions and recognized that their self-interest was 
not always in the interest of others (qtd. in Mark, 2005, p.2). Accordingly, Lao-Tzu grew 
impatient with people and with the corruption he saw in government in China of his day, 
which caused the people so much pain and misery. He was so frustrated by his inability to 
change people's behaviour that he decided to go into exile.

However, as he was leaving China through the western pass, the gatekeeper Yin Hsi 
stopped him because he recognized him as a philosopher. Yin Hsi asked Lao-Tzu to write 
a book for him before he left civilization forever and Lao-Tzu agreed. He sat down on a 
rock beside the gatekeeper and wrote the Tao-Te-Ching (The Book of the Way). When he 
felt he had finished writing, he handed the book to Yin Hsi, and walked through the 
western pass to vanish into the mist beyond. Yin Hsi then had the Tao-Te-Ching copied 
and distributed. The Tao-Te-Ching, a book of poetry and wise sayings, presents the simple 
way of following the Tao and living life at peace with one's self, others, and the world of 
changes. There are no "bad people" according to Taoist philosophy, only people who 
behave badly. Given the proper education and guidance toward understanding how the 
universe works, anyone could be a "good person" living in harmony with the earth and 
with others. Hence, the Taoist philosophy, generally emphasizes wu wei (action without 
intention), naturalness, simplicity, spontaneity and the “Three Treasures”: compassion, 
frugality and humility and the Yin-Yang Principle of thought. The principles of Taoism 
have impacted Chinese culture greatly in the course of the centuries. Today, Taoism is one 
of the five religious and philosophical doctrines officially recognized by the People's 
Republic of China (PRC). 

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Taoist Yin-Yang Principle of Complementarity 

One of the major philosophical principles of Taoism is the Yin and Yang principle of 
thought, which reflects the belief in the complementarity or balancing forces and 
matching pairs, such as light and dark, hot and cold, action and inaction – believed to work 
together for a universal whole. The Yin-Yang thought emerges from the Taoist 
cosmological speculations about the origin of the universe. Accordingly, the universe 
came to be as a result of the interactions between the two primordial opposing forces of 
Yin (non-being) and Yang (being). Since things are experienced as constantly changing, 
that is, as processes of coming into being and passing out of being, they must have both 
Yang (being), and Yin (lack of being or non-being). The world of changing things that 
constitutes nature can, therefore, exist only when there are both Yin and Yang or Yang and 
Yin. Without Yang nothing can come into existence; and without the Yin nothing can pass 
out of existence (Koller, 2007, p.207). 

Thus, with this principle, Taoist maintain a strong belief that, “everything in the universe 
is connected and that nothing makes sense by itself” (Koller, 2007, p.207). By the 
doctrine of this principle, nature favours unity of opposites, and life is supposed to reflect 
a balance created by such oppositional forces – as symbolized in the Yin and the Yang. The 
Yin-Yang is thus, a symbol of complementary opposites that creates a balance in nature – 
dark/light, passive/aggressive, female/male – everything except good and evil, life and 
death, because nature does not recognize anything as good or evil and nature does not 
recognize a difference between life and non-life. With this principle, Taoism believes that 
all is in harmony in nature, and all humans are encouraged to accept and live that kind of 
harmony as well in their social relations. 

The Yin-Yang principle of thought reveals the ontological grounds for the unity of our 
beings as well as the complementary nature of our existence as human beings in the 
universe. It recognizes the truth about the interconnectedness amongst people not only of 
the same ethnic origin, colour race, but amongst everyone who is regarded as a person. It 
provides us with the ontological basis for unity in diversity in any existential 
manifestation. It shows that we are all connected, irrespective of our existential 
diversities; and that we need the other person or people from the other ethnic group to 
complement us for the perfection our being and expectations at any level of existence in 
the society. It shows that we can unite and cohabit with people of diverse ethnic 
nationalities, without producing a contradiction, because nature requires so for a balance 
and harmony of systems. Thus, rather than exclusivism, this principle shows that 
complementarity is the language of nature; and that all ethnocentric tendencies and 
contrivances about the superiority of one ethnic culture to others in the society, is nothing 
but an ideological aberration and psychological deception, which amounts to self-
destruction.  

Implications for Managing Ethnic Diversity in Nigeria.
Peace, ethnic harmony and development in our country will not descend on the wings of 
inevitability, but through a change of mind and hard work. Hence, for this country to make 

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Etuk           The Challenge of Ethnocentrism in Nigeria and the Yin-Yang Principle...



progress forward in these regards, there is a strong need for Nigerians to commit 
themselves the ideals of complementarity thought and of existence as expressed in the 
Yin-Yang philosophical principle. Nigerians in their various categories need to appreciate 
that we are essentially one, irrespective of our ethnic and cultural diversities; and that by 
nature, we have a shared web of complementary existence. Hence, the essence of our 
ethnic diversity is not to seek to dominate or manipulate the other, but to be open to each 
other and to be permeated by fruitful, spontaneous contributions and exchange from 
within and without, so that we can gain mutual support and enrichment needed for our 
wholeness and perfection; for we can unite without war or bitter rivalries and violence.
Since life, as the principle reveals, requires diversity of beings for harmony and balance, 
we need to acknowledge our limitations, that no one person or ethnic group can realize 
itself without the “other”. Our ethnic diversity, is therefore, not to be understood as 
tragedy or as irreconcilable and disjunctive negation to our being, but as conjunctive 
contraries or opportunities for our mutual complementation and enrichments. This calls 
for the rejection of the absolutist and exclusive mindset, which undergirds all sorts of 
ethnocentric behaviours in our society. For this same reason, authentic existence must be 
seen a matter of relating virtuously and positively with others. It is to be judged in our 
capability to identify with people of other ethnic groups and exhibit solidarity with them 
in their otherness. Our social and political lives ought, therefore, to be defined by mutual 
respect for human dignity in others, solidarity in actions, whereby we think of ourselves 
as members of the same group or nation, and who care for each other's quality of life 
through actions that promote justice, equity and fairness. In the light of this 
complementary existence, we have a duty to respect the rights and secure the well-being 
of others, even as we seek our own rights and well-being. 

Irrespective of the historical accident that brought us together as a Country, and the dark 
experiences of our burdened past, we must be forward-looking, having also the 
confidence in our capacity to emancipate ourselves from all sorts of negative and 
polarizing mindsets or consciousness. Without such mental re-orientation, we will 
continue in the ideological tussle where we polarize each other as the offenders and the 
offended, and continue to seek to dominate others or to revenge, while imagining that we 
are immune to the flaws we target for criticism in others. This type of mental 
emancipation is needed to heal the wounds inflicted on our consciousness due to past 
mistakes and to supersede the phenomenon of ethnic domination and rivalries, which 
“have become the staple of Nigerian's political history” (Udoidem, 2000, p.29). Those in 
political power need to run an 'open society' in which the interests of every citizen, 
irrespective of ethno-cultural background are given equal consideration, a society which 
merit, achievement and credentials, rather than cultural or ethnic background, are 
considered the basis for official engagements. A fair chance in the fundamental structure 
of the nation's socio-political life must therefore, be created for all to participate in both 
the productive and distributive justice. As the Yin-Yang principle shows, no society can 
lend its support to any action on the contrary, without undermining its unity, stability and 
progress.

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Conclusion
Ethnocentrism, has undoubtedly complicated the task of nationhood in Nigeria. Today, 
there is a near total loss of sense of unity in the country. The urgent need to halt this 
dangerous slide has more than ever, become an essential imperative today. In view of this 
demand, this paper, proposes and recommends the Taoist Yin-Yang principle of 
complementarity for the re-orientation of the mindset of Nigerians along the lines of 
complementary mode of thought and existence. Given the salience of this philosophy in 
guaranteeing this needed complementary consciousness and relational existence, the 
accommodation of its normative ideals in Nigeria at time crucial time, is necessary to 
address the challenge of ethnocentrism in the country. 

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