THE RELEVANCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN AFRICAN THOUGHT SYSTEM

Abstract

 African societies had a system of law comparable to Western legal systems with one major exception; in traditional African societies, the law existed outside the framework of a state, and Acompliance to the law was maintained through custom and religion as well as traditional patterns of sanction. These pre-colonial African societies had a high level of organization in which political, economic, and social control were upheld. Tradition African society practiced rights such as right to life, right to education, right to land, right to fair hearing, and freedom of worship among others. This paper uses historical and analytical method to reveal and evaluate the notion of human rights in African thought system. Generally, human rights are rights inalienable to man by the virtue of being human. It could be seen as moral guiding principles that defined or shaped the moral behaviour of individuals in a society. With this understanding, this work argued against the critics of tradition African society who claims that African traditional codes of conduct discriminate between insiders and outsiders and are dogmatic, therefore, they are said to have restricted applicability. In response, the research argued that, in Africa, customs are highly revered and even cherished. But this is also true of every human society anywhere in the world- be it Europe, America or Asia. The paper concludes that, African traditional society was an embodiment of human rights, and it is truth that needs no proof that human rights existed in African life style before colonialism.