Determinants of Public Perception on Civic Participation and Social Cohesion in Nigeria, 2021-2026

Abstract

This paper explored the determinants of public perception of Civic Participation as a determinant of Social Cohesion in Nigeria. The paper hypothesized the findings of the Nigerian Social Cohesion Survey 2026 on Civic Participation and Social Cohesion as conducted by African Polling Institute. The Survey found high willingness to participate in civic activities by Nigerian citizens, even though there has been a sustained declined in the figures over the last two years. This paper was aimed at developing an elaborate toolkit for measuring civic participation beyond the willingness for intercultural cooperation and intermarriage as utilized by the Survey. The paper relied heavily on secondary sources from extant literature and the Nigerian Social Cohesion Survey 2026 data and was anchored on social capital theory. Findings show that the level individual and social trust, personal attributes, personal resources and Individuals’ social values, ideological identities as well as personal influences, coming from parents are deterministic for civic participation and social cohesion, hence, the paper recommended that future Surveys should expand to include these other determinants of civic engagements in order to generate the perception of civic engagement on social cohesion that is reflective and representative of the Nigerian Society.