OBI ABIODUN OLAJIDE

Philosophy

At the Philosophy department office

Appointment on Visitation important

Topic: African Philosophy

Description: African Philosophy is one of the philosophies in the world, which is just getting recognition. on this note, there is a need for African scholars to research concepts and ideas in African philosophy. The four methods of African philosophy which are Ethnophilosophical, Philosophical Sagacity, Hermeneutic and conversational methods will be used to achieve the aim of making African philosophy one of the leading philosophies in the world

#	Certificate	School	Year
1.	Ph.D (Philosophy)	Philosophy, Arts	2023

PROCESS ONTOLOGY AND NEO-CONSENSUAL DEMOCRACY: AN AFRICAN METAPHYSICAL FOUNDATION FOR DYNAMIC GOVERNANCE

The search for an indigenous system of governance capable of functioning as a viable alternative to the majoritarian model led to the emergence of neo-consensual democracy. This model represents a modified and expanded form of the consensual democracy proposed by the Ghanaian philosopher Kwasi Wiredu. While Wiredu advocated decision-making through consensus rather than majority rule, neo-consensual democracy further develops this idea by adapting it to the realities of contemporary plural societies. A central theoretical question concerns the relationship between neo-consensual democracy and process philosophy. This paper argues that neo-consensual democracy is grounded in an African process-oriented philosophical outlook in which being is understood as relational becoming rather than static substance. In contrast, majoritarian democracy is typically based on atomistic individualism, winner-takes-all decision procedures, and fixed political mandates. African metaphysical traditions, however, emphasise relational personhood, dynamic communal interaction, and participatory legitimacy as fundamental features of social and political life. Within this framework, political authority emerges through dialogue, negotiation, and the continuous search for shared understanding. Neo-consensual democracy, therefore, represents not merely a political model but the institutional expression of a deeper ontological orientation in which reality is viewed as dynamic, interconnected, and constantly unfolding.

In this respect, neo-consensual democracy reflects a central insight of process philosophy: that entities are constituted through relations and that becoming takes precedence over permanence. By interpreting African relational ontology within an explicitly processual framework, this paper provides a metaphysical foundation for dynamic governance in plural societies. It concludes that neo-consensual democracy offers a coherent alternative to majoritarianism and contributes to global democratic theory by broadening its metaphysical assumptions beyond substance-based and individualist paradigms.

OBI OLAJIDE is a Lecturer II at the Department of Philosophy

OBI has a Ph.D in Philosophy from Philosophy, Arts