Emancipation of an African Mind?

Here is a collection of some reflections which I found on the Web on this mind-boggling topic. And I thought I should share with you, my blog readers.

From: Decolonizing the African Mind: Further Analysis and Strategy

The central objective in decolonising the African mind is to overthrow the authority which alien traditions exercise over the African. This demands the dismantling of [foreign]... supremacist beliefs, and the structures which uphold them, in every area of African life. It must be stressed, however, that decolonisation does not mean ignorance of foreign traditions; it simply means denial of their authority and withdrawal of allegiance from them. Read more ...

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From: The African Renaissance and the Challenge of Globalization (2001)

Foreign aid has done more to keep Africa down, and to disempower her peoples. It has altered the African psyche severely, with greater impact than a century of missionary education—a testament perhaps to the power of money and technology. The beggar mentality of the elites, the almost holy-worship and adulation of Europeans, no matter what rank and level of education, the elite's rejection of anything African—from locally produced consumer products to doctors and African professors—are all testimonies of how deeply ingrained the 'dependency' mentality is. Reversing this colonial mental trap is the first and most important step towards the full emancipation of the continent. To deny the possibility of 'self-transformation' is to give credence to the widely held racist western view that Africans are an inferior race with very little appreciation of the values of democracy and progress.

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The African continent, of course, is no stranger to globalization and its deleterious effects. More than any region in the world, Africa has paid a high price for the globalizing policies of rival capitalist powers as they strived to expand the geographic bounds of capital. Starting with the slave trade in 1650 and continuing under colonial rule after the Berlin Conference of 1884, the continent had been heavily drawn into the centers of capitalist accumulation, but always as a subordinate partner whose primary role was to contribute to the development of the metropolitan powers. The present globalization, much like the 19th century globalization under colonialism, could again leave the continent permanently scared unless African leaders and their people are mobilized to manage it successfully to their own advantage. For Africa, this is an absolute necessity if the continent seeks to avoid a repeat of the economic, social, political and psychological traumas of the 19th century globalization. Globalization of the 20th century should not be allowed to leave behind the same terrible legacies.

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Africa's marginal position in the new global hierarchy, therefore, provides us with a compelling occasion to reorganize our political systems and economies, to strengthen the continent's capacity to become more assertive in international affairs, and to defend Africa's sovereignty. To bemoan and complain about the negative effects of global forces without taking the necessary counter measures at national and regional levels will do little to ease the pain of marginalization. As the esteemed Brazilian educator Paulo Freire succinctly put it, "the oppressors will never make change; the oppressed themselves must bring the change they desire". Read more ...

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From: Ghanaian Mentality: Why are we the way we are?

I believe that the European trinity of slavery, colonisation and Christianity proved to be a powerful tool in shaping the way we thought and still think today. Essentially, the European adventure in these three areas stripped the African of his belief systems and his identity. He was taught that his way of life- his religion, his culture, his language, his skin colour, his very essence- was wrong and inferior to the European model. The Europeans knew that the most effective way of controlling a person was to control his mind. No wonder Bob Marley enjoins us, in ‘Redemption Song’ to emancipate ourselves from ‘mental slavery’-it is the worst kind. Read more ...