Niger Delta Conflict, Social Egoism and the Ethics of Civility

The paper re-examines the problem of violent conflict in the Niger/Delta region which threatens the mono-economy and corporate existence of Nigeria. It seeks to navigate beyond the common causes of the problem to include a frequently excluded cause, which is, the social-egoism of the groups that constitute the major stakeholders in the conflict. The paper, therefore, argues that the pursuit of group’s interests devoid of concomitant consideration for others, (including future generations) and the environment would continue to impact negatively on resolution efforts and consequently, impede on peaceful co-existence. Therefore, it proposed the display of the ethics of civility on the part of the stakeholders in handling the conflict constructively. The paper employed the quantitative method of research in Philosophy, it specifically adopted the analytic and prescriptive approaches of the method. The analytic approach clarifies concepts such as ethics of civility, stakeholders, social egoism, etc. so as to remove ambiguity. The prescriptive approach proposed the inculcation of the ethics of civility in inter-personal relations, including human dealings with the ecosystem.