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Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Culture / What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? (27123 Views)
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Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by pansophist(m): 9:56am On Sep 23, 2014 |
maxit2: It will make more sense if you debunk his post, not thrashing his point without relevant info. 2 Likes |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by alizenbohr: 10:06am On Sep 23, 2014 |
bushdoc9919: All I can do here is quote Field Ruwe's article Bro, this article you quoted is really heavy. Gave me a serious mental jolt. I'm just questioning my priorities now. |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by AbuuUthaymeen(m): 11:24am On Sep 23, 2014 |
One problem I find ubiquitous in all African community is covetousness of the leaders and the worship of European master,if this can be overcomed then a path will be created for our cultural renaissance to begin.just my two cents |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by krayzieklay(m): 12:29pm On Sep 23, 2014 |
maxit2: IN SHORT: Bitter truth... Most especially number 4 and 5. |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by Nobody: 12:37pm On Sep 23, 2014 |
Unity rather than language has been our problem...... We see differences where we should see shared values...... The concept of nationhood is still alien to us and we are trying really hard to adjust to it..... Africans didn't have a say in how their maps were to be drawn, so were lumped together as countries with high expectations being foisted on them because of abundant resources they possess... This is the reason most wars in Africa have been civil wars because tribes that used to be arch enemies were quickly summoned together by imperialist to form a country... One voice is the birth of cultural renaissance and until we see ourselves as one, we still have a long way to go... As per why Koreans and Chinese caught up quicker, I think it's because they have always had a form of writing which Africans do not possess.... They have been reading and writing in their languages for the past 5,000 years. Africans only spoke their languages and never fashioned a way of documenting it down. If it had been documented down, it would have given birth to formal education and rapid progress. A simple knowledge about how germs spread for example might have been translated to local languages written in their forms of writing but knowledge about germs won't spread as rapidly in Africa as it would in China because you first have to teach Africans how to read and write. By the time they get it, their counterparts would have moved to other different things. |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by Nobody: 1:07pm On Sep 23, 2014 |
greatwaters: Nice write-up but you're getting some things mixed up#Stands up and gives a round of applause# I couldn't have given a more logical and realistic explanation. What a breath of clean fresh air. 1 Like |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by Nobody: 2:08pm On Sep 23, 2014 |
Very good thought there OP. I think the major problem behind Nigeria's stagnation is the large amount of diverse cultural backgrounds that has lead to tribalism. It's kind of become a competition between all these tribes instead of working together to help this nation grow. The aforementioned countries, regions and areas you stated in your post have a more unified cultural background which is less diverse than Nigeria's. Isn't this the same country with over 250 languages? A country this small with that many languages and tribes is bound to fail. Can anyone tell me how many tribes or languages we've got in Japan, China, France, Germany, Uk or even the US? Also, there tends to be a certain bias to every tribe in this country. Take for instance, a more qualified Yoruba man wants a post at a job but a less qualified Ibo man gets the job not based on merit but based on similarly between the tribe. I just keep on hoping everyday Nigeria overcomes this tribal war and work together to lift the nation. Peace 1 Like |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by Nobody: 2:42pm On Sep 23, 2014 |
The crab mentality and Human worship(the believe of inequality- that you must worship a human and a human must worship you) Is a cancer worm culture that has eaten deep into the black african society and promoted backwardness. This set of people out number those who don't promote such ideology. They are not ready for any change and that's why they can not face the truth. That explains the ridiculously low traffic on this thread. A greater number of this young generation would rather prefare to discuss women,sex and other meaningless subject. We have a really long way to go. 2 Likes |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by Omarbah: 2:51pm On Sep 23, 2014 |
bushdoc9919: All I can do here is quote Field Ruwe's articlethis reminds me, when Japan wanted to establish a cotton yarn industry in Japan, Eiichi Shibusawa a "patriot businessman" was put to the task. But at the time, Japan lacked technological and managerial skills to compete with imported products. So here is what he did. He contacted a Japanese student in the name of Takeo Yamanobe , who was majoring in economics and insurance in London. He asked him to "study" the textile industry for him, so that he can establish a local industry. He changed his major to study the theory of the textile industry. Realizing that theory won't cut it, he decided to work in a textile company where he learned technology, management and shipping. After absorbing everything he needed, he returned back home and was made head engineer of the Osaka Spinning Factory which was a success. Will the diaspora why can we do similar things? No just in the textile industry but in multiple others. Our markets are flooded with cheap Asian manufactures while we have a large unemployed youth and indigenous crafts. What we need is changing those into large industries, and we can call upon our diaspora for technical help if we need it. 4 Likes |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by tpia1: 3:10pm On Sep 23, 2014 |
is africa a country? you have to know africans have different loyalties to different foreign powers, and besides, many africans are kith and kin to these foreign powers. so, lumping all africans together as one, is counterproductive. |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by Omarbah: 3:49pm On Sep 23, 2014 |
greatwaters: Nice write-up but you're getting some things mixed up Fighting superstition does not mean getting rid of languages. The Spanish, the French, the Germans and multiple other nationalities have rid themselves of most of it but they still retain their language. The communist in China fought it with their "cultural" revolution. And knowledge is the only way to fix it. People need to know how is electricity produced, they need to know what a eclipse is so that they would interpret it as the death of a ruler. This is what I mean by ending superstition through knowledge. You don't have to start translating books in every single one of Nigerian languages . In the North , Hausa alone can do the trick. In Central Africa, Lingala would do the job, same thing for Swahili in eastern Africa. For the Western part of West Africa, Maninka and Pulaar/Fulfulde would work. Many of these languages are spoken by other Africans, specially the illiterate. Our bright minds like those I listed in the post would do us great goods if they made medical, farming, mathematical, and why civics manuals in our languages for a start. Help those millions of our people have access to the knowledge they need. To finish here is what Friedrich List in National System of Political Economy had to say about the effect of introducing Roman Law in Germany: "The introduction of the Roman law weakened no nation so much as the German. The unspeakable confusion which it brought into the legal status and relations of private individuals, was not the worst of its bad effects. More mischievous was it by far, in that it created a caste of learned men and jurists differing from the people in spirit and language, which treated the people as a class unlearned in the law, as minors, which denied the authority of all sound human understanding, which everywhere set up secrecy in [66] the room of publicity, which, living in the most abject dependence and living upon arbitrary power, everywhere advocated it and defended its interests, everywhere gnawed at the roots of liberty. Thus we see even to the beginning of the eighteenth century in Germany, barbarism in literature and language, barbarism in legislation, State administration and administration of justice; barbarism in agriculture, decline of industry and of all trade upon a large scale, want of unity and of force in national cohesion; powerlessness and weakness on all hands in dealing with foreign nations." 1 Like |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by Omarbah: 3:58pm On Sep 23, 2014 |
Mars88:exactly, these regional languages are share by millions of people from different ethnic groups. |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by Omarbah: 4:00pm On Sep 23, 2014 |
ChiSun27: All these continents you mentioned all have a common language spoken and understood by her citizens.One common language you said? Do Asians have one common language? Do the Europeans have one common language? Even within little Switzerland, there are three major languages. 2 Likes |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by Omarbah: 4:01pm On Sep 23, 2014 |
SkyRider1: Sure that's our only lifeline.Exactly my point. |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by Omarbah: 4:03pm On Sep 23, 2014 |
SirHouloo: Nice talk but how many of our Yoruba students can successfully read and write in Yoruba?that is the problem my friend. How many Yoruba agricultural engineers can explain to local villagers what they have learned in western Universities? How long can we last this way? Are we going to end up like African Americans and Caribbeans? We will be people without a culture and language. Then White folks will tell our kids that when they came to Africa, we couldn't even speak. |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by Nobody: 4:13pm On Sep 23, 2014 |
A thread created almost 24 hours ago has less than 3000 views. |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by plaetton: 4:19pm On Sep 23, 2014 |
Everyone is blaming our leaders, as if the so-called leaders are aliens among us. The leaders are us and we are them. They are the reflections of us. Surprisingly everyone has dodged the real reasons why we remain backwards, and why our cultures are disappearing. It is RELIGION. You will notice that our two tokumbo religions are aggressively anti-African in every measurable way. Our addiction to tokumbo religions, religions that I must boldly say, we never understood and still do not understand even today. I continue to maintain that these tokumbo religions are the equivalent of deleted uranium, once a useful source of power, but now an eternal toxic danger to any life that comes into contact with it. I have variously and vigorously lamented about our obsession with religion and our gross national lunacy, about the debilitating effects of these foreign religions on our national IQ, on the dangers of having the majority of our population being part of the lunatic fringes, on the clear and present dangers of having people whose belief systems are neither founded on nor grounded on objective reality, being in positions where they making decisions that affect not just other people, but the majority of the people. I see religion, standing on a worldview based on stone-age superstitions divorced from objective reality, as the main impediment to an African cultural renaisance. 3 Likes |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by greatwaters: 5:56pm On Sep 23, 2014 |
Omarbah:I see your point, but I'm just highlighting the difficulties of attempting 2 teach science in our local languages. Even if, as u have already stated, its not necessary 2 do that in all the languages, its still not easy. Someone who speaks Yoruba, for example, would hav 2 learn Hausa first, if he is 2 benefit, if Hausa is 2 be made the main language. I must commend the point u brought out tho. |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by greatwaters: 6:01pm On Sep 23, 2014 |
cococandy: Development is not only infrastructure.Point taken miss/mr |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by lagcity(m): 6:17pm On Sep 23, 2014 |
The Problem is patriotism. It doesn't matter if you have a capitalist, socialist, military, civilian or any other form of govt., the country will not be a developed country without patriotic people in govt. |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by lagcity(m): 6:36pm On Sep 23, 2014 |
maxit2: IN SHORT: Let's not be myopic and look at the big picture of history. Anyone could have written off Europeans, Japanese, Chinese, Koreans, or Indians at a specific period in time. There was a time the Greeks wrote off all other Europeans and civilizations because they were living in the Greek era. There was a time when Arabs also wrote off the Europeans who are now their masters. There was a time when Teddy Roosevelt wrote off the whole of Asia except Japan. Recently, India just lunched a probe which reached Mars. I don't need to tell you that S. Korea is doing very well. Just point to any country on earth and I will tell you that there was a time they were written off and not considered "brainiacs". The African century will arrive or not, it is in our hands. 1 Like |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by hanief1911(m): 6:42pm On Sep 23, 2014 |
SirHouloo: Nice talk but how many of our Yoruba students can successfully read and write in Yoruba? Disowning our Mother is nothing to be proud of. Attaching our value to a bastard language makes us look weak no matter how smart we think we may "sound". English is a tool...nothing more. |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by rash47(m): 7:10pm On Sep 23, 2014 |
Tribalism still remains the black man's burden. Basil davidson. |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by Fulaman198(m): 7:15pm On Sep 23, 2014 |
OkikiOluwa1: Absolutely, it's also affecting the way many of us think. There is a way to become very educated whilst preserving ones tradition and culture. |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by macof(m): 7:25pm On Sep 23, 2014 |
@OP lemme tell you one fact. At independence it was decided for most African countries especially Nigeria which I know of to take English as it's official language and language of instruction throughout because we are multi-ethnic- no one language from the native ethnic groups could come out to take the role of "official" If African nations were drawn on ethnic lines, not religious or former colonial boarders our culture would be preserved better, there would be better nationalism and patriotism, less bigotry in one nation, respect for the neighbours We stand a lot to gain from totally reconstructing Africa, cleansing the continent of the pollution of the Europeans. Let large ethnic groups form one nation, Akan be one Ghana, Yoruba be one Oduduwa, Igbo be one Biafra, Hausa(and the settled fulani) be one Arewa We are bound to progress with better understanding, freedom and cultural independence |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by Fulaman198(m): 7:31pm On Sep 23, 2014 |
plaetton: Everyone is blaming our leaders, as if the so-called leaders are aliens among us. The leaders are us and we are them. Religion is only partially the problem, it's not the grand problem. Religion like everything else in my opinion should be practised in moderation. The issue is that Africans are more serious about religion than any other region in the world. Education should come first as God gave us many ways to develop our brains. As you know we are educated, the problem is with our greedy and corrupt leaders who don't have the people's best interests in mind. 1 Like 1 Share |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by Fulaman198(m): 7:33pm On Sep 23, 2014 |
macof: @OP lemme tell you one fact. As you know the OP himself is Fulani like me, but from Guinea. Fulani and Hausa don't really like one another outside of Nigeria. But that's besides the point. India is a country that is comprised of a plethora of ethnic groups and they have the 3rd largest GDP in the world. The whole "let so and so be one nation, does not work" It would not work. That is not the problem to begin with. There are many countries in the world with melting pots and tons of ethnicities that are thriving so let's not use that as an excuse. |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by Fulaman198(m): 7:36pm On Sep 23, 2014 |
rash47: Tribalism still remains the black man's burden. To a certain extent yes, but to a much grander extent the problem is the leadership and incompetent leaders with brains of fish. The leaders know absolutely nothing about technology nor do they have a will to implement ways for us to catch up and surpass our competition (other countries outside of Africa). In the 1970s and 1980s, according to my elders, the South Koreans were not ahead of the Nigerians. Yet, today they are. I think the difference is in the leadership as their leaders actually promote high standards whilst our leaders promote mediocrity at best. Today, we have China and Western powers trying to impose how we do things. How did it get to this? We shouldn't be having China or any foreign power trying to help us. Africans are looked down upon everywhere around the world, and we only have ourselves to blame. 3 Likes 2 Shares |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by Sopino: 7:56pm On Sep 23, 2014 |
greatwaters: Nice write-up but you're getting some things mixed up |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by macof(m): 7:59pm On Sep 23, 2014 |
Fulaman198: I know for a fact that Nigeria is not the making of Nigerians, we had no say in it, what even worsens it is that we have no cultural connections. This is different from India where it's so called "tons of ethnicities" have shared an "Indian" cultural sort of commo wealth union even before British colonization Indian cultured empires have been colonizing the region thereby spreading it's cultures and accepting influence from it's neighbors You can't compare Nigeria with India, India shares so much more cultural togetherness 1 Like |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by Fulaman198(m): 8:02pm On Sep 23, 2014 |
macof: India is a good comparison to Nigeria. Nigerian culture? give me a break people are becoming Westernised at a phenomenal rate that I'm beginning to even wonder how many Nigerians even care about culture today. Most of them are listening to hip hop over their own traditional music and see absolutely nothing wrong with it. Nigerian culture can't even be called Nigerian culture any longer amongst SOME ethnic groups. Some people even think that speaking pidgin English over their own native language is great. You can't really call that culture. |
Re: What Is Preventing Africa From Experiencing A Cultural Renaissance? by Omarbah: 8:03pm On Sep 23, 2014 |
macof: @OP lemme tell you one fact.Can you imagine how many wars can break out as a result of this balkanization? How many small countries would be fighting for land that they claim is theirs? West Africa has seen her best days during the Ghana and Mali empire. Unfortunately, due to a lack of transportation means those empires could not develop strong armies to establish order throughout the area they ruled to break any rebellion. But those empires were multi ethnic. After the fall of the Songhai empire that was attempting to do the same as the two previous ones, we ended up with smaller states and that's when the slave trade truly flourished. West Africa became a land where any group of thugs could organize their slave trading company and sell their own for low quality goods that also undermine our small industries. That culture still persist to this day. Every now and then, you see a group of low life criminals take possession of guns and wreak havoc. Secondly, we live in an age where even European nation states are finding ways to unite because they believe their nation states can no longer protect them against competition from China or North America. Why would we instead moving in the same direction, go in the opposite? If the current states are to broken along ethnic boundaries, we would our children and grand children great good only if we make our entire region one federal republic. Each group could have their small state but within one large ECOWAS. 1 Like |
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