The Necessity of an intellectual community in Africa.
Africa is the second largest continent being smaller only than Asia and covering about one fifth of the total land surface of the world. Africa’s known mineral wealth places it among the world’s richest continents. It’s very large share of mineral resources include coal, petroleum, natural gas, gold, diamonds etc. but the exploitation of these mineral resources has become an impossible economic activity in virtually most countries in Africa, Nigeria as a paradigm. Africa also have a gigantic human resources, About 6 billion people that make up the worlds population, Africa shares a very sizeable and significant number, but it is very unfortunate that upon all these mineral and human resources, Africa is the only continent with large number of poor countries and in fact, virtually all countries in Africa are poor.
It is something worthwhile recalling that apart from the few African counties that were not colonized. Ghana was the first West African country to gain independence, three years later in 1960, Nigeria and most other African countries gain independence. 1960 was the peak of independence in Africa since most African countries got their independence in 60s.
The independence in virtually all the African countries didn’t come in a platter of gold. It was the labor of the African intellectuals that gave birth to independent Africa countries. Ghana in 1957, Nigeria in 1960, Egypt in 1922 etc. However, these intellectuals have been forgotten or rather relegated to the past. This is very unfair on the part of Africa and Africans. This relegation of these intellectuals has caused another relegation which has in itself brought about another relegation. This means that the relegation of the intellectuals to the past brought about to the relegation of the works and achievement of the intellectuals which will yet bring another relegation of the creative development which ceteris paribus, the intellectuals would have brought.
Every county in Africa has been talking of political injustice, social injustice, economic cum judiciary injustice, but there is also such a thing as intellectual injustice. Our national problem should be tackled with intellectual justice not with exploitative ignorance. There is lack of rationality behind many government plans and unsuitable people are placed in the key positions, forgetting that intelligence is the vital and often pivotal foundation for national decision. The reason behind all these is that for the past two decades, the educational institutions in African, Nigeria as a paradigm, has not been geared to produce creative individuals, but rather to provide certificate and qualifications needed to fill government posts. Another factor is the home environment, the family been the most influential of all forces that mould human personality, as there were few families in Africa with real intellectual interest. Children are not exposed in their homes to an intellectual atmosphere conducive for creative development, because when the intellectual spirit pervades the homes, it will influence the young and when they later grow up and disperse into administration, business or industry, this spirit will serve them well, because an enquiring and reflective mind is always an asset.
Therefore, the necessity of an intellectual community in Africa is itself, an intellectual question. Since the intellectuals are not recognized in Africa, African intellectuals will have to raise the question of their own necessity. Does Africa really need an intellectual community? This is not a rhetoric question, but I pray you reserve your answer at the end of the write up.
Since time immemorial, society has always been divided between the leaders and the led, between small groups called the elite and the rest of the populace. This small minority usually includes the politicians, administrators, religious dignitaries, artists, business men and woman, aristocrats, industrialist etc, now it is the function of the intellectuals to provide similar leadership in the realm of thinking. Most persistent problems in Africa have been talked about but not thought about. So I think I’m being righter than wrong here, when I said that intellectuals should be leaders in the territory of thinking. Intellectuals provide leadership in the following areas of thinking (i) the posing of problems (ii) Analysis of problems (iii) Definition of problems (iv) solution of problems.
Intellectuals should lead the above thinking activities in the African society because a good deal of trouble has been caused in Africa by too much intelligent but with too little wisdom.
Therefore, without an intellectual community in Africa, Africa would be deprived of some certain level of consciousness and insight into vital problems. Intellectuals are the moral conscience of our time; they observe the political and social situations and speak out freely. Therefore, without an effective intellectual community in Africa, there is no demand for change in the fundamental forms of Africa society. Hence the tendency to cling to the status quo. (magico-religious mentality) without a functioning intellectual community, Africa loses, although these losses is not directly perceptible, nor are its effects uniform in all the African countries. It is not possible to measure these effects quantitatively but in general it has lowered the standard of political leadership, the social class, the business and industrial group, and the coming generation. If the intellectual spirit pervades the home, it will influence the young and when they later grow up and disperse into the administration, business and industry, this spirit will serve them well, because an enquiring and reflective mind is always an asset.
Moreover, in Africa, we have many intellectuals both young and old. The October 2005 poll on the foreign policy and Britain’s prospect magazine, saw the following Africa intellectuals among the top hundred intellectuals in the world, they include: Chinua Achebe, Wole soyinka, J.M. coetzee of south Africa, Ayaan Hirsi ali of Somalia, Yusuf al-quaradavi of Egypt and Ali Mazrui of Kenya. However, there are other intellectuals in Africa. We have a collection of intellectuals but we need a collectivity of intellectuals that is coming together of all intellectuals to form a functioning group.
Before, I conclude, I must say that government is too big and delicate to be left in the hand of politicians alone, therefore, there is a need for the intellectual community to influence the government. When we talk of intellectual community influencing the government. We do not necessarily mean that intellectuals themselves would occupy bureaucratic positions or become directly involved in business and industrial ventures. We mean the tapping of intellectual resources by the society through existing channels. There is a need for instance in Nigeria, to revise school textbooks and syllabus, to reform electoral system. To re-invigorate agriculture, to energize human resources, to alleviate poverty etc. these needs has to arise in the consciousness of the government and the intellectual community can help to awaken it. The intellectual community can then assist in the process of accomplishing the change through membership on committees or adversary boards.{Note: I usually use Nigeria as a paradigm because I think its more safer to offend my own country-men}
The intellectual community will have it as a priority to awaken the sciento-technical rationality and democratic spirit in the society. The socio-political cum economic change which we all agitate can be met in the application of the democratic spirit laden with sciento-technical rationality. The sciento-technical rationality as against magico-religious worldview assures the broad means to acquisition of democratic spirit. The democratic spirit among other things concentrate on the core values that are people oriented. It operates with a reasonable understanding that the actual good of the society draws its greater impetus upon the good of the people. It is the state of mind and social culture that favor and prioritize certain political and social values, which are indispensable for any form of governance to be truly human.
In conclusion, a critically and reflective consideration of the application of democratic spirit fastened with sciento-technical rationality can to a greater degree boost the ladder of creative development and salvation that had been the cry of Africans. With our movement refocused towards this right course, we build our hope on the belief that out of the debris of bad governance, among other things, a new nation shall be born. A nation that will have justice, truth, freedom and indeed democratic spirit with sciento-technical rationality as its foundation. A nation that will have a befitting place for intellectuals, for sages and visionaries, for true nationalists and genuine patriots, a nation that will be adequately responsible for and towards the poor, the meek and the weak. The present circumstance assigns us the onus to work towards the realization of this hope, so that our continent so richly endowed by the creator but so seriously desecrated by not only a history that is unfortunate but battered, among other things by treacherous stewards and callous usurpers, will rise again to the path of peace, progress and democratic spirit, then, we for example as Nigerians, can sing our National Anthem with a sense of national pride and a sense of genuine belonging to a nation bound in freedom, peace and unity. John Okafor.C. +2347038780704