How Africa can use its traditional knowledge to make progress | Chika Ezeanya-Esiobu

[2Quik4UHoes]

Agreed The last time we had a true educational center in Africa was Timbuktu, but that declined significantly once the Songhai Empire fell.

In the country I'm from, Nigeria, the elite send their children to western schools. Hell, the elite raise their kids in the west a lot of the time. There's no real incentive for them to improve the education system in any meaningful sense because it doesn't affect their children. You can apply that line of thinking to a lot of the problems that plague similar African nations.

It's really going to take a shift in the mindset of the people in power if we want to build an African superstate.

Its on the diaspora frfr, we know what a successful nation looks like. It’s on us to bring ourselves together to create the right model.

 

[MischievousMonkey]

Very well said. It is definitely a complex issue.

I really do feel this complexity is due to the unnatural way we go about solving our language and other societal issues. While we are trying to be civil and equitable about our styles of government, religious practices, monetary systems and language; most well developed states/regions do not arise that way. Each state effectively consumes its neighbors without prejudice and imposes its iron will in order to unify all parties irregardless of their individual feelings as ethnic groups.

We saw this in the

• unification of Germany
• Unification of China
• unification of US
• unification of Britain,
• Unification of Mali, Songhai
• Unification of kemet
• Unification of the Kingdom of Kongo
• Etc.

In literally all of these cases, standardization was not voluntary or equitable. The morality of forced unification under Otto Von Bismarck, Ramses II, all 3 Khans, and Musa is obviously questionable, but the end result justified the unsavory means and saved countless lives that would’ve otherwise been lost in the ethnic squabbles we see in Africa today.



While I can sympathize with the plight of the Peuhl of Senegal, the Suba of the Great Lakes, and the countless pygmie tongues of the Congo; is their cultural identity worth the lives lost to the inability to share vital ideas and the inability to defend themselves as one ethnic whole?






Also, good point with the Netherlands. I can definitely see the similarities between Africa and the Dutch. Their borders and allegiances were drawn arbitrarily by foreign powers just like us. But it is also worth noting that they were treated favorably by France, Austria, and UK in hopes of becoming a buffer state. This favorable treatment (treaty of Rastat, treaty of Senlis, League of Nations meddling) aided them in unification after each world war and the napoleonic wars. Obviously, we didn’t get that treatment.




Could the unification of Germany be a better model given their similar treatment by outsiders and overall outcome of their reorganization?

I'm 50/50 on the part in bold. While I recognize the patterns of the historical processes that led to nations-building and "unity" among people, I'm not sure that we should consider them as an unquestionable blueprint.

I feel like this is giving up on our creativity and originality to copy a recipe that's been made already. Because we are not aware of any recorded way offering testimony of people finding unity without feeling the terrible burn of acculturation and forced assimilation, does not mean that there is not such a way we could be the first to explore. Let's be the first to do that.

We see the large range of cultures and languages as a vulnerability. What strengths could we take from it? How can we work around the weak point so as to preserve the precious and fragile structure?

 

[2Quik4UHoes]

I'm 50/50 on the part in bold. While I recognize the patterns of the historical processes that led to nations-building and "unity" among people, I'm not sure that we should consider them as an unquestionable blueprint.

I feel like this is giving up on our creativity and originality to copy a recipe that's been made already. Because we are not aware of any recorded way offering testimony of people finding unity without feeling the terrible burn of acculturation and forced assimilation, does not mean that there is not such a way we could be the first to explore. Let's be the first to do that.

We see the large range of cultures and languages as a vulnerability. What strengths could we take from it? How can we work around the weak point so as to preserve the precious and fragile structure?

Again, I think common philosophy and shared culture and heritage based on regional similarities and synergies is a great start. The providing a foundation like that, you can then argue the political and economic benefits of a united regional state vs a fragmented slew of neocolonial fiefdoms.

Moreover, united fronts provides stronger leverage for regional issues as well as increased support. The EAF is a good example of this type of theory although it hasn’t reached its final stage yet. But in Africa, regional unity should be the next logical evolution but that has to first begin with paradigm shifts in philosophy, education, and geopolitical and geoeconomical goals into one unified mindset while celebrating, preserving, and expanding on unique indigenous customs and standards where applicable.

 

[CopiousX]

I'm 50/50 on the part in bold. While I recognize the patterns of the historical processes that led to nations-building and "unity" among people, I'm not sure that we should consider them as an unquestionable blueprint.

I feel like this is giving up on our creativity and originality to copy a recipe that's been made already. Because we are not aware of any recorded way offering testimony of people finding unity without feeling the terrible burn of acculturation and forced assimilation, does not mean that there is not such a way we could be the first to explore. Let's be the first to do that.

We see the large range of cultures and languages as a vulnerability. What strengths could we take from it? How can we work around the weak point so as to preserve the precious and fragile structure?

I've taken a good week and a half to ponder your statement. While it certainly did challenge me, your final questions rang in my head like asking, "what are the positive attributes of a short circuit?"


The issue isn't so much that we are split up; divided circuitry is incredibly useful. The issue is that we are completely disconnected in everything but our sense of music. We lack the unified objective that those individual ethnic identities can follow separately. Even something as simple as an African Berlin Conference is enough.



If we had said objective, then their black individualism could become an asset. Defensively, there would be too many factions for our opposition to tackle. Offensively, it would be death by 10,000 papercuts





While, I have faith in the creativity of African people; I doubt we have the time to re-invent the wheel on this one. While academics can postulate and ponder work arounds against forced unification, i feel millions of us will literally die of ignorance and lack of coordination in the meantime.



Cost/benefit analysis?

 

[Sinnerman]

There's an African scholar(I think it might have been Diop?) who argued that Africa was undergoing a "consolidation" process in the 18th/19th centuries with the rise of some of the indigenous would-be conquerors, but it was too late as the Europeans obviously began their conquest.

There are arguments to be made on either side for sure