Changing Values in Contemporary Nigeria

Every society is unique in its own respect. This uniqueness derives from the peculiarity of the accepted rules of behaviour in that society. The nature and source of values are appraised as moral precepts that are embedded in the culture of any society. Like the society and culture, values are susceptible to change. Some cultural values in the Nigerian society had undergone sea change as a result of the influence of foreign cultures. However, certain core values have remained unaffected by this wind of change. This article adopts a pragmatic approach in exploring the extent to which change in values in the Nigerian society has occurred. A distinction of the traditional African and Nigerian value system was made from the values in contemporary Nigeria. The various processes of social change are identified as being responsible for the difference between traditional values and changing values in contemporary Nigeria. The paper is organized under four sub-headings: introduction, comparative African values, changing values in contemporary Nigeria and conclusion.