VALUE BUILDING AND LIVING POLITICAL CULTURE

A NEO-FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF INTEGRATED DEVLOPMENT OF THE SOUTH EASTERN NIGERIA

Abstract

The paper examined the nexus between value building and living political culture towards a rethink proposal for integrated development of the south eastern Nigeria. It combined the analytic and existential principles of philosophical methodology to collect a body of secondary data which it analysed qualitatively. Guided by the neo-functional frame work, the paper discovered that the south east, as a creation by military fiat in 1993, has experienced decades of sustained ideological disconnect which has impeded the emergence of enduring values needed to evolve living political culture for development. The implication of the absence of living culture is disintegrated development, which is characterized by individualized struggles/efforts that are disinclined to and not complemented by the effort of the institutions of governments of the zone (that have been structurally distanced from the people). It is our findings that conscious value-rethink (value building) towards living political culture will not only reinforce the present institutions and practice of democracy in the south east but will strongly lay a new foundation for integrated all sector development of the region. The finding is based on the assumption of this paper that; a society is the totality of its values, and living value produces living citizens, living populace and living leadership. And a leader emerges out of a process that reflects the prevalent or dominant values of society in time and place and nothing exclusively to the contrary, since a  value laden process typifies the political system directs the economy and gives identity to a people and its environment. The paper recommends among other things that relevant authorities should ensure qualitative restoration of mass confidence through positive citizen engagement. And the restructuring of Ohaneze Socio-cultural Organization into a regulatory super state organization through ideological integration of all the affairs of societal action, practice and service for inevitable development of the south east zone.