The Quest for African Identity Has Been One of the Major Preoccupations of the Contemporary African Philosophers

Existence can not be thought of without the word identity. Everything in existence has a peculiars mark that distinguishes it from other existent things. It is identity that adds color and gives a mark of destination to any being. Thus, any existent thing without identity does as good as not exist. The two are inextricable. It is very horrible, it pains to heart to see any being with a blurred and hazy identity. Such a being can best be called a living dead. Unfortunately, Africans are victims of this gruesome ability.

The problem of identity that has a grip on the neck of African existence could be traced directly to the era of colonialism. The colonial masters gave the Africans the notion of inferiority. They forced the Africans to believe that they have no culture religious, history and even rationality. All these went to give them the notion that they are sub-human. The colonial masters forced African to swallow the bitter pill of inferiority. The African man on his own part accepted all these notions.

Consequently, he began to see himself as a person without any root. A person who has to bend his back in subservience to his white master. The African man began to swing his arms like a drowning man in order to gain a foothold. He has been made to believe that he has no culture. He began to seek affirmation and his identity in the stone, he gathers no moss. These problems made him even to hate his native language and his color. Having been told that he lacks rationality, he began to scramble and flirt about with everything European. In his bid to prove his rationality and humanity, he drowned even more in the sea of identity confession. Thus, they believed that in avoiding their true tenets and imitating that of their colonizers, they will be superior as man”. He abandoned his Africanness and turned around to run after European culture and ways of life. As a result of these problems, the contemporary African philosophers have been in continual quest for the true African identity. The question is, “to what extent can they achieve this, let us now see to what extent they can achieve this goal.

Contemporary African philosophers are the philosophers that exist as from the best century. They include, Kwasi Wiredu, Peter Boduurin. Henry Odera Oruka, C.B Okolo, Prof. Hountoundji, to mention but a few. They are African berried men, thus, “much of their discussions are carried out under the context of an academic discipline”.

Philosophy is defined as a “critical theory which provide theoretical framework … And transforming reality whether social …or religious”. from these, we see that contemporary African philosophy can offer us identity. The Europeans made the African to believe the philosophy is such a lofty discipline that it is above the African rationality. Just for the fact that there is an existence of philosophy in African is an enough indication that African is just as rational as Europeans. Some of the African philosophers have already done tremendously in their bid to offer blacks identity. Examples of such are J.S. Mbiti, and Leopolel Seughor. Their works are eloquent testimonies to this.

Through Ethno philosophy and sage philosophy, they can critically scrutinize those multi faceted and scattered African cultures which are embedded in myths and proverbs and also those wise words from sages they can them give all these a rational foundation. This will help Africans to see that they have cultures. Culture is one of the indications of humanity. They presence of the African culture would help the Africans to believe that they have a culture which is only but African and which is different from the European culture. The contemporary African philosophers also engage themselves in the mental decolonization of people.

Endnotes

1 OGUEJIOFOR, J. O, Philosophy and African predicament

2 Ibid; P.91

3 Oladipo, O; Philosophy & culture (Ibadaw Hope Publication 1999), P. 19

4 Ibid; P. 23