A popular Yoruba saying goes thus: “Ẹni t’ó sọ àṣà nù, ó s’àpò ìyà kọ.” (One who abandons his/her culture, has hung a bag of suffering).
Is Cultural Renaissance necessary for development, especially with regards to the Black (African) race? Marcus Garvey once said, “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”
The great Afro-beat icon, the late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, in one of his works, drew attention to the need for culture and tradition in informing ourselves on running of our national affairs. We like to praise nations like Malaysia, Singapore and other so-called Asian Tigers for their rapid advancement in contemporary times, while we berate and undermine ourselves for what appears to be inertia in our developmental journey.
We often wonder why Africa lags behind in today’s rapid technological advancement. A lot of the times when the challenges we face are analysed, little discussion is anchored around the issue of culture. In our collective national psyche, our culture plays almost no part. From our political systems to our education, judicial and religious institutions, our cultural nuances are almost non-existent.
What this means is that Africa is attempting to confront her challenges using standards alien to her. Most of our political leaders have set their standards on what other continents have devised to run their polity. But the imposition of alien cultures and traditions has only served to further confuse the African. The elites who have been programmed by the colonial education they received have been programmed to look down on their culture.
The Asian Tigers, on the other hand, did not have the type of programming we had from our colonial past. Japan, for instance, is an industrialised nation but still ensures its culture and traditions are not relegated in favour of Western ways. They inculcate in their national consciousness a strong sense of their history.
What really is culture?
One dictionary defines it as the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively. It involves the intellectual activity and achievements consisting of literature, music, painting, philosophy etc. It is the ideas, customs, and social behavior of a particular people or society.
This suggests that one’s culture is part of the make-up of the individuals belonging to a society. It becomes internalized and constitutes the identity defining the people. It follows that abandoning one’s culture is akin to relinquishing a part of one’s being. It means looking outside of oneself in developing their socio-economic conditions. It ensures that proper ethical standards are enthroned in their communities.
Culture remains the factor enabling a people to develop and maintain self-pride, which in turn creates the incentive to become innovative and face challenges. It encourages the building of institutions which are appropriate to the character and preferences of a people. For instance, language is the driver of culture; lose your language, lose yourself.
It is imperative that for the continent of Africa to be free from domination and economic exploitation from other races, the peoples must begin to learn their history and understand themselves by digging into the evolution of their culture. However, this should be done with a view to striking a balance between the traditional and the contemporary.
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