Africanism In The Shadows Of Occidentalism by JESUFEMI Oluwatimilehin.

Africa as a continent is facing lots of challenges ranging from ideological nondevelopment, political and economic instability among others. These problems have been and are being addressed consciously by Africans and there have been recorded success. This paper shall be limited to education, politics and religion. Africa is one of the seven continents of the world, dominated by the Negroid race. The people therein are rich in cultural and natural values. These values are imbibed in the people's dressing, art, literature, languages, traditional institutions and lots more. According to the United Nations, Africa consists of 54 countries, divided into five regions: North, South, East, West and Central. The contact with the Europeans in the 19th century marked a new beginning for a modern history for Africa. Several things took turn to happen and these shape the history of Africa forevermore. The legacies of the Europeans are still obvious in Africa and the fragrance is still there. AFRICANISM refers to characteristics of African culture that can be traced through societal practices and institutions of the African diaspora. These characteristics include music, art, politics, economic policies, religion and of course, indigenous African education. It is an ideology that sprang out of the consciousness of the Africans in diaspora. Just like the West will talk of ideologies such as Marxism, Feudalism, Nazism, Fascism, Capitalism, Communism, Leninism and so on. So much of the things going on in Africa are influenced by the West. OCCIDENTALISM refers to ideologies of the Europeans. It can also be called Westernism. Due to colonialism and imperialism, these ideas were imposed on Africa. Capitalism, Democracy, Marxism, Dictatorship, Aristocracy, Feudalism and so on are the roots of their own politics. After colonialism, these ideas are still felt in Africa and this means there is a new colonialism which the Colonial masters are still in governance without being present physically.refers to ideologies of the Europeans. It can also be called Westernism. Due to colonialism and imperialism, these ideas were imposed on Africa. Capitalism, Democracy, Marxism, Dictatorship, Aristocracy, Feudalism and so on are the roots of their own politics. After colonialism, these ideas are still felt in Africa and this means there is a new colonialism which the Colonial masters are still in governance without being presentesent p nt phyhphysissicacallly. AFRICANS AND NEO-COLONIALMENTALITY: 'Kolo mentality' as used by Fela Anikulapo-Kuti means neglecting indigenous African beliefs to suit the Colonial masters. It is the migration from ideology embedded in Africa to an entirely new ideology. Fela rejected many ideas about Europeans, even till the point of changing his name from 'Ransom-Kuti' to 'Anikulapo-Kuti'. But should we reject and neglect the path of our fathers and follow strangers? Or we should mix the two together? The manifestation of the mentality will be viewed from the perspective of education, politics and religion in the subsequent paragraphs. EDUCATION is the lifelong process of refining and refurbishing the talents of an individual from birth throughout his/her lifetime for a useful living and a happy society. Fafunwa (1974) opined that 'education is the aggregate of all processes by which a young adult develops the abilities, attitudes and other forms of behaviour which are of positive values to the society in which he lives'. From the definition above, education is not specifically limited to formal or Western education but cut across a spectrum of learning and teaching activities. Education is in three major forms; formal, informal and non-formal education. Nigeria practice the 6-3-3-4 system of Western education with little or no emphasis on indigenous and vocational education, this is not good enough for the growth of the nation. Fafunwa in his book History of Education in Nigeria highlighted the importance of traditional education, he said 'Every society, whether simple or complex, has its own system for training and educating its youth, and education... In Old African society the purpose of education was clear: functionalism was the main guiding principle. African society regarded education as a means to an end and not as an end in itself...' Despite Africa being a nonliterate society, informal and non-formal education existed and thrived in these societies in Africa and functionality is the main reason why this education suited Africa. The eclectic approach to education is one of the best ways to revolt against neo-colonialism. In essence, a blend of Western and African education will put Africa in a best way to improve economically, politically and ideologically, not just the dogmatic approach to Western education. POLITICS According to Adrian Leftwich: Politics comprises all the activities of co-operation, negotiation and conflict within and between societies, whereby people go about organizing the use, production or distribution of human, natural and other resources in the course of the production and reproduction of their biological and social life. And To Vladimir Lenin, "politics is the most concentrated expression of economics." From the definitions above, politics concern the people more and the people must be considered above every other things. Monarchical form of government existed in Africa before the coming of the Europeans. 'Jared Angira's "expelled" reflected on the how the Europeans demolished and relegated the heritage of Africa. In the Old Oyo empire, they practiced monarchy with democracy. The Alaafin's powers were checked and balanced by the Oyo mesi, so also in the Hausa/Fulani empire, the Songhai, Mali and other empires that existed in the pre-colonial African societies. There were pro and con but the brouhaha is not like what we have in the present Africa. Saudi Arabia's monarchical form of government is still retained and even Britain's, why can't African leaders look inwards for solutions on political matters rather than following the Western style of government. Would Capitalism really help Africa? Or is there any other means to bring Africa out of this misery? RRELIGION: Religion is a very complex term to define, however, let's look at the definitions of some scholars. The anthropologist Clifford Geertz defined religion as a […] system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic." Also, The MacMillan Encyclopedia of Religions states: The very attempt to define religion, to find some distinctive or possibly unique essence or set of qualities that distinguish the religious from the remainder of human life, is primarily a Western concern. The attempt is a natural consequence of the Western speculative, intellectualistic, and scientific disposition. It is also the product of the dominant Western religious mode, what is called the Judeo-Christian climate or, more accurately, the theistic inheritance from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The theistic form of belief in this tradition, even when downgraded culturally, is formative of the dichotomous Western view of religion. That is, the basic structure of theism is essentially a distinction between a transcendent deity and all else, between the creator and his creation, between God and man.' Before the advent of the Western missionaries and Islamic Scholars, traditional African religion were in vogue and they are practiced freely without discrimination. Africa is a pantheistic society. Africans are notoriously religious. Since the introduction of foreign religions, Africans tend to be more Catholic than the Pope. So much to the point of being brainwashed. If we as Africans will blindly follow Westernism, I fear we might not see the light at the end of our tunnel. The religions that are formerly alien to Africa are turning Africa apart, if proper care is not taken, it will tear the rubrics of Africanism. Archbishop Desmond Tutu said 'When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said "Let us pray." We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land.' Albeit, embracing Africanism with a touch of Occidentalism is not a crime but a dogmatic followership of Occidentalism is heinous to the growth of Africa. All the legacies of the Europeans can be remodelled to improve Africa. Neo-colonial Mentality will make us to continue chasing the West forever without meeting them. It is not Neo-colonial to be eclectic but it will be when we neglect our own heritage and follow a stranger's own. That Africa was bought and trade doesn't mean we can't be redeemed, let's listen to our prophets; Fela Kuti, Bob Marley, Nkrumah, Haile Selassie, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther, Malcolm X and so on. Citations. Wikipedia.org Fafunwa, A.B. (1974). History of Education in Nigeria (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429454905.