Colonialism, Christianity and Western Education as Instruments of Imperialism: A Case Study of Nigeria

Abstract

The paper identifies colonisation, Christianity, and Western education (CCWE) as instruments of imperialism and Western hegemony, particularly in Nigeria. The paper’s objective is to examine the influence of colonialism, Christianity, and Western education as instruments of Westernisation. The paper employs historical methodology within the framework of the theory of selective addition that is guided by three laws: the law of identity (what is true is true), the law of contradiction (contradictory judgements cannot both be true), and the law of excluded middle (any statement is either true or false). The paper argues that European nations undertook their imperial projects primarily to enrich their home countries at the expense of their colonies. With Christianity and Western education as institutions of collaboration, they replaced original African religious, political, social, and economic systems with Western alternatives, which are largely responsible for the corruption of African culture. The research concludes that the entrenchment of corruption culture in Nigeria was a legacy of CCWE. Therefore, corrupt practices in contemporary Nigeria can be traced back to CCWE.