A Dissertation entitled Capability, Social Justice and Education in the Niger Delta by Imoh Colins Edozie Submitted to the Graduate Faculty as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Educational Theory and Social Foundations ___________________________________________ Dale Snauwaert, PhD, Committee Chair ___________________________________________ Lynne Hamer, PhD, Committee Member ___________________________________________ Noela Haughton, PhD, Committee Member ___________________________________________ Fuad Al-Daraweesh, PhD, Committee Member ___________________________________________ Cyndee Gruden, PhD, Dean College of Graduate Studies The University of Toledo May 2019 Copyright 2019, Imoh Colins Edozie This document is copyrighted material. Under copyright law, no parts of this document may be reproduced without the expressed permission of the author. An Abstract of Capability, Social Justice and Education in the Niger Delta by Imoh Colins Edozie Submitted to the Graduate Faculty as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Educational Theory and Social Foundations The University of Toledo May 2019 The main purpose of this dissertation is to analyze the complex developmental and conflict prevention challenges in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria as well as the role education can play in the pursuit of justice in that context from within the theoretical framework of Amartya Sen’s capability approach to justice. The capability approach to justice is grounded in the idea of the realization of a conception of the good conceived as a substantive freedom, as a combination of the development of internal capacity with the provision of substantive social opportunities for people to do and be what they have reason to value. It is argued that the capabilities approach is the most appropriate theoretical framework for articulating the diagnosis and remedies of injustice in the context of the Niger Delta as compared to Rawlsian and Utilitarian theories of justice. The evaluative standard employed in the analysis is how well a theoretical framework of justice diagnoses and addresses the resource conversion problem, the problem of differential resource conversion which undermines human well-being, is at the core of the Niger Delta’s developmental challenges. Furthermore, it is argued that a capability-based educational approach, aligned with progressive and social reconstructive philosophical iii principles, has the potential to empower the people to pursue social justice in the Niger Delta through the facilitation of public reasoning and deliberation. Keywords: Niger Delta, capability approach, resource conversion, distributive justice, social justice, public reasoning, education and peace education, utilitarianism, justice as fairness, John Rawls, Amartya Sen iv This work is dedicated to the loving memory of Mazi Godwin Ekekwe Imoh And To the Godhead, the source of all inspiration v Acknowledgement Life is a rite of passage and a journey of discovery. The search for knowledge can be facilitated by an open mind. At the end of a journey is actually the beginning of another journey; however, it is always good to acknowledge those who facilitated the journey. In the summer of 2007, I met Dr. Dale Snauwaert at the University of Haifa, Israel during the International Institute for Peace Education (IIPE). It was an encounter that culminated in this work. I wish to express my profound gratitude and appreciation to Dr. Dale Snauwaert for being a colleague, a mentor, and most importantly a teacher. Learning under Dr. Dale Snauwaert is an inspiration, his patience is legendary, and his ability to make complicated things simple is awesome. Working on this dissertation was a challenge, but as the day progresses, it became a joy. Thank you, Dr. Dale Snauwaert, for your guidance. I thank my mentors Prof Uwazie Ernest for opening doors for me as well as Dr. Jayne Docherty, for painstaking working with me to get the ideas and attitude right. The countless twice a month check-in calls to discuss the dissertation and the frustration of living in the USA and adapting to the reality of life. Thank you for having a listening ear. Most times what people need is just a listening ear, somebody to just listen. Thank you for your support and solidarity. Working as President and then Co-Advisor for Golden Key Honour Society, I met Dr. Gray Temeaka, her encouragement and offer to read my work and give corrections is very much appreciated. I can recall many occasions when at relatively short notice, I call to make a request; she already indulged and obliged me. Thank you very much. Thank you, Adaku Juliet, for journeying with me; I can say that our almost daily talk was quite helpful. It is always nice to have somebody to vent to, thank you for vi having the patience to listen to all my frustrations, pains, and agony. The journey to the Ph.D. is never always fun! I thank members of my committee; Dr. Lynne Hammer, Dr. Noela Haughton, Dr. Fuad Al-Daraweesh and Dr. Dale Snauwaert for providing the guidance and support throughout the process. I thank my family for their love and support. This period of study outside the country can be a source of stress and confusion. Thank you Afua, Chinua, and Chizorom for your love, understanding, and patience. Thanks to my siblings, my mum, and to my friends. I hope the attainment of this degree can be a source of joy for everybody. Finally, to my dad, If I know you will die during the course of my Ph.D., I will instead have remained behind and shared the last moments with you. I love you and will always miss you, dad! Rest in Peace! Thank you to Clayton of the UT writing center, he went out of the call of duty to assist. To my friends who journeyed with me, some reading and editing my work to make it better. Others played all kinds of supportive roles. I say thank you to Lynne, Motunrayo, Dave, Tony, Adrian, Patrick, Chris, Abolade, Zach, Mohamed, Bisola, Madu, Ifeanyi, and Emeka. Thank you for your support and Solidarity. vii Table of Contents An Abstract of .................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ vi List of Tables ................................................................................................................... xiii List of Figures .................................................................................................................. xiv I. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 A. General Problem Statement ............................................................................ 10 B. Research Problem ........................................................................................... 12 C. Research Purpose ............................................................................................ 12 D. Research Questions ......................................................................................... 12 E. Research Significance ..................................................................................... 13 F. Research Methodology ................................................................................... 14 G. Brief Outline of the Dissertation ..................................................................... 14 a. Chapter 1: Introduction. ...................................................................... 15 b. Chapter 2: Literature Review. ............................................................. 15 c. Chapter 3: Capabilities Theory of Justice as a Compelling Theoretical Framework. ......................................................................................... 15 d. Chapter 4: Role of Education in the Pursuit of Justice. ..................... 16 e. Chapter 5: Conclusion......................................................................... 16 II. Literature Review........................................................................................................ 17 A. Introduction: Niger Delta, Peace, Violence and Social Justice ...................... 17 B. Niger Delta, Peace, Violence and Social Justice ............................................ 20 C. Theories of Justice, Social Justice .................................................................. 22 a. Impartiality and Reciprocity as a Foundation ..................................... 22 viii D. Distributive Justice.......................................................................................... 24 E. Utilitarianism .................................................................................................. 26 a. Act and Rule Utilitarianism. ............................................................... 27 F. Social Contract Theory of Justice ................................................................... 29 a. Categorical Imperative - Kantian Moral Philosophy .......................... 29 b. John Rawls’ Theory of Justice as Fairness. ........................................ 31 G. Capability Approach ....................................................................................... 32 a. Capability Methodological Approach. ................................................ 35 b. Applications of the Capability Approach. .......................................... 37 c. Other Applications