GENERAL INTRODUCTION
1.1 INTRODUCTION
In the history of thought, Nietzsche occupies a fundamental position especially in the contemporary era. His ideas and postulations are not only thought provoking but brain storming; not so much because of his originality but for daring the ‘undared’. In the light of this, Copleston confirmed: “For whatever one may think about Nietzsche’s ideas, one cannot question his vast reputation and the power of his ideas to act like a potent wine in the minds of a good many people”.1 Nietzsche’s fame is not busted by his postulations of the Superman, Eternal Return, Transvaluation of Values and not even the Will to Power. The landmark that makes him remembered today is his famous nihilistic acclamation ‘God is dead!’ Nietzsche identified this calamity with European nihilism. The European culture, once a religious culture, had become religionless. However, since this culture was built on the foundation of the Christian religion, the death of God in the hearts of the 19th century European meant the collapse of the foundation of their culture, moral values, tradition, and this was for Nietzsche a tragedy. To buttress this Omoregbe opined: “Nietzsche foresaw and predicted in a prophetic way that Europe was heading for a period of gloom and eclipse, a period of instability, aimlessness, emptiness and darknes”.2 Furthermore, in his magnum opus ‘The Will To Power’ Nietzsche wrote:
What I relate is the history of the two centuries. I describe what is coming, what can no longer come differently: the advent of nihilism…for sometime now, our whole European                                                                                                                                                                culture has been moving as toward a catastrophe, with a tortured tension that is growing from decade to decade: restless, violently, headlong, like a river that wants to reach the end, that no longer reflects, that is afraid to reflect.3
With regard to Nigerian situation, there is no gainsaying the fact that Nietzschean nihilistic principles have been directly translated into Nigerian experience. Nigerian situation is that whereby the concept of God has become a dead concept. This is so because God is dead in the hearts of Nigerians. Consequently everything is permitted; nothing is meaningful and nothing works, no central objective and rallying point. Morality is thrown to dogs and meaning goes with it. This explains why there are crisis, violence, lawlessness, assassination, armed robbery, embezzlement, injustice, anarchy and chaos in Nigerian society and this without mincing words or exaggeration is what I identified as Nigeria in nihilism. However to explore Nigerian nihilism with clarity and precision, and to bring it to limelight; moral nihilism, religious nihilism, educational nihilism, economic nihilism and political nihilism, remains the focal point of this memoir. Hence, what does Nietzsche mean by nihilism? What are the consequences and implications? And how do we evaluate Nietzschean nihilism with regard to Nigerian situation?
This project is divided into five chapters. Chapter one introduces the whole frame of the study with the general introduction and methodology. It further states the problem, the purpose of the study and the scope of the study. Chapter two focuses on definition of the term nihilism and traces its historical account in the history of thought, which is literature review. Chapter three centres on nihilism in Nietzsche where we shall see what he meant by nihilism and its implication. The exposition of Nigerian situation where we shall witness the influence of Nietzschean nihilism in Nigerian society is the proper locus of chapter four. Chapter five takes care of evaluation and conclusion. It is this final chapter that bears my opinion concerning the topic.