Sociology and Criminology-Open Access
Open Access

Abstract

Nigerian Social Institutions in the Lens of Anomie Theory

Okafor Samuel O

Sociological theories are focused towards analyzing and explaining situations and circumstances surrounding social phenomenon, interpreting them and predicting their likelihood hence, the relevance of sociological theories in every human society to scholarly evaluate the direction of the society for important action by the members of the society. Among the sociological theories, Anomie theory (Though relatively old) is one of the foundational sociological theories by one of the founding fathers of Sociology which, still hold relevance in the explanation of the modern social institutions. In view of the explaining power of anomie theory about the malfunctioning of the social institutions, this paper draw from the various perspectives on anomie theory such as Durkheimian perspective, Parsonian perspective and Mertons, in examining the healthiness of the Nigerian social institutions such as the political institution, economic institution, religious institution, family institution etc.