THE STRUGGLE FOR CONTROL OF AFRICA: CHALLENGES FACING AFRICAN INTELLECTUALS IN THE RESTORATION OF AFRICAN IDENTITY IN THE GLOBE

Abstract

The African continent over the years has been misconstrued by the Western world. The basis of the discourse on African philosophy has been that of rationality (reason) and irrationality (emotion). Africans have been accused of being irrational, savage, non-human or subhuman. That Africa has no history, no culture and has never contributed towards the world civilization and development. Since then, the tentacles of the debate on rationality and misinterpretation of Africa have seriously widened. The authenticity of African identity has been, as well, questioned. Globalization, which is seen as a medium of unification, has come with its implicit or explicit evidences of neocolonialism and racism. With this, human relation has existed on the platform of superiority and inferiority, civilized and uncivilized, developed and underdeveloped world. All these were predicated on the philosophical racism that was self-evident in the philosophical works of some Western philosophers. Using hermeneutical method, this work intends to investigate into the basis of the struggle for control of African identity. The work concludes that there is much to be done in Africa by African intellectuals. African philosophers or intellectuals should live beyond speculations and embark on pragmatic approach regarding culture, politics, economic and globalization so as to restore African identity in the globe.