The Impact of Catholic Social Thought and Capitalism on the Social and Economic Development of Nigeria: The Role of Nigerian Culture in the Persistence of Poverty

The worsening state of poverty is a great challenge to the evangelizing mission of the Church, since the Church wants to identify with the joys and sorrows of the human community. The consequences of Colonialism, the debt burden, and the comparative disadvantage in technology, are partly responsible for poverty in Nigeria. However, the main contributor to poverty and underdevelopment in Nigeria is from within. Moral degeneracy, internalization of the sense of oppression, and the inability to extend the African sense of solidarity beyond the traditional boundaries of blood relationships of family, tribe, and ethnic group, have encouraged attitudes and behaviors that contribute to widespread poverty. Enlightenment can lead to a critical re-evaluation of some formerly uncritically received traditional values. A gravitation towards relationships based on voluntary contractual commitment, appreciation of the indispensable role of the individual and human agency, and the identification of Nigeria as the unit of the common good, are some of the expected results of enlightenment. This means revitalizing the people at the grassroots level to assume the full range of their civic and human responsibilities