Conceptualizations of Family Structure in Nigeria

Abstract

Given that social institutions are the basis of any society, they must ideally operate in unison with functional necessities for any society to function and then flourish. The plethora of issues confronting Nigeria as a country may be traced back to weak, incompetent, and dysfunctional social institutions that have failed to alter the status quo. According to Talcott Parsons, society is analogous to the human body, and in order for the body to thrive, all of its elements must collaborate. For Nigeria to advance, all social institutions, including family, school, religion, politics, and the economy, must work together to create repeatable results. It is against this background that this paper sought to examine the role of family structure in Nigeria and their pro-activeness in propelling national development. Literature was extensively reviewed from relevant publications and journals and it revealed that the family structure in Nigeria is gradually becoming weak and dysfunctional. This is attributed to a lot of changes that are taking place in the institution of family which quite often poses a threat to the very survival of family system universally. It was then concluded that there is need for every family to hold with uttermost importance the place or morals, socialization and regulation of individual member of the family’s behaviour.