Epistemic Injustice and the Marginalisation of Indigenous Knowledge in Nigerian Science Policy: An Analytical Inquiry

This study provides an analytical philosophical investigation of epistemic injustice as it operates in Nigerian science policy, examining how the systematic marginalisation of indigenous knowledge systems constitutes a philosophically identifiable form of injustice with practical policy consequences. Miranda Fricker's concept of epistemic injustice, which identifies hermeneutical and testimonial forms of unjust exclusion from epistemic communities, provides the primary analytical framework. The study addresses a significant gap in the literature: while indigenous knowledge marginalisation in Nigeria has been extensively documented empirically, its analysis through the epistemological concept of epistemic injustice has not been undertaken. A mixed-methods philosophical design is employed, combining systematic analysis of Nigerian science and technology policy documents from 2019 to 2024 with qualitative interviews involving 35 scientists, indigenous knowledge practitioners, and philosophy academics across the South East, North Central, and North West geopolitical zones. Critical discourse analysis of policy language identifies epistemic exclusion mechanisms. Structural equation analysis tests the relationship between epistemic marginalisation indicators and innovation outcome variables. Findings establish that Nigerian science policy documents systematically employ hermeneutical frameworks derived from Western positivism that render indigenous knowledge claims epistemically invisible, constituting identifiable epistemic injustice. The study contributes an original application of epistemic injustice theory to African science policy, proposing a pluralist epistemology framework for inclusive Nigerian science governance. Keywords: epistemic injustice, indigenous knowledge, Nigerian science policy, Miranda Fricker, epistemology.