African Discourse on Africanization and Decolonization

By Zulumathabo Zulu © 2016

On Friday (November 25, 2016), I was interviewed by the great Rawena Baird of the SAFM. The interview was about my indigenous knowledge and my work with the Basotho. The interview was arranged by Themba Dlamini of SAFM and I was more than happy to share our knowledge with the SAFM audience.

Rawena Baird of SAFM

The interview was inspired by the conference on conflict  and dispute resolution at the Institute for Dispute Resolution in Africa (IDRA) at the University of South Africa (Unisa) that took place on November 17 this year at the Faculty of Law.

I have posted an SAFM podcast so that you can gain an insight on how Africans conceptualize, adjudicate and solve conflicts and disputes. This is an important contribution given the fact that as a people we are losing ground in terms of amicable methods of solving challenges we are faced with.

We need a cultural revolution that will be selflessly championed by the sons and daughters of the African soil in order to be better resourced to generate new ideas. Culture is the excellent source of inspiration to achieve our greatness in all sectors of our lives including economic prosperity. Without access to culture, our ability to innovate is limited. The reason culture is an important imperative and a precondition for economic prosperity is because culture is a determinant of the right mindset and behaviour for success, peace, conceptualization, futuristic innovations and the moral code.

The ECC (Euro-Christian Colonial) system has been effective in tying down the African so that Yena is not able to regain control of the destiny. The ECC was effective as a result of creating a sense of shame and disdain about the culture. As a result of this, the African gravitates towards the ideas of others instead of being inspired by the ideas of the erudite ancestors who have gone before us. As a people, we shall have to gain an antidote to overcome this toxicity of the ECC. As an intellectual historian of the African philosophical ideas, my role is also that of an exorcist in order to rid the African of self-hate; self-disdain and dependence on foreign ideas.

As a world traveler and a globe traveler, I have observed that the world respects people who venerate their indigenous ways of knowing because in this way, they can make original contribution to the world body of knowledge. Another reason for this is that the world embraces those who are inspired, directed and energized by their cultural heritage. This cultural ethos is an important imperative because others will respect and trust you because you demonstrate a genuine belief in your indigenous ways of knowing.

It is difficult for others to trust you if you show a sense of shame, disdain or tentative behaviour towards the origin of your culture.

Without further ado, please follow the links below: