Citation :

Ikeagwuchi Ikechukwu UKWUOMA, Benignus Chukwunonso EZE, Samuel Ojodomo SIMON, 2023. "Autonomy, Agency and Empowerment in Sustainable Community Development: The Imperative of Critical Philosophical Thinking (CPT)" ESP International Journal of Science, Humanities & Management Studies(ESP-IJSHMS)  Volume 1, Issue 3: 14-21.

Abstract :

Nigeria seeks a safe and sustainable community development which has given rise to workshops locally. Globally, there are constant talks on the need for cohesion, inclusiveness and community-driven development, acquisition of which lies in equity and inclusion of everyone and the realization that even the little child has something to offer. However, the Nigerian community (from the family to the political structure) suffers from non-inclusion and inequity. For example, parents try to get the life they did not live through and in their children causing such children not to be original, authentic, to have their own voice, to exercise agency and autonomy. In the community, few are empowered while the rest are left to eat from the crumbs that fall off the table. So, how aware are individuals of their amazingly unique qualities? How many individuals have discovered themselves? Does self-discovery come before acquisition of knowledge? This paper aims to show that sustainable community development rest on certain qualities such as autonomy, empowerment and agency. Through the method of critical philosophical thinking (CPT) this paper argues that agency, autonomy and empowerment are the pathways to sustainable community development. The paper concludes that CPT is required in order to establish the qualities of autonomy, empowerment and agency as they all share a nexus.

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Keywords :

CPT, Community, Sustainable Development, Empowerment, Agency, Autonomy.