AN EXPLORATION OF OLUSEGUN OLADIPO’S “ISSUE OF AFRICAN SELF-DEFINITION IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD”

Abstract

This paper explores the issue of African self-identity in the face of the overarching Western hegemony. The paper, exposing the thoughts of the renowned African scholar, Olusegun Oladipo, foregrounds that at the heart of the quest for African true identity are two related questions: how best to approach the denigration of African cultures and traditions by the West and how best to obtain freedom and independence of thought and development without Western influences. The paper argues that conceptual/mental decolonization is the best way to both respond to the issue Africa’s true identity and uplift Africa’s cultures and traditions from the substandard class it has been consigned to