Unlearning and Rebuilding: A Call to Question Our Beliefs
Photo by Ralph (Ravi) Kayden / Unsplash
More than a decade ago, for the first time, I was introduced to the thoughts and writing of great men and women who had started on a journey to re-examine the foundations of thought and systems — not of the world but of modern African thought.
In the wake of the tribalism that has trailed our 2023 Nigerian elections, I remember the decolonisation project of Kwasi Wiredu who dedicated his life to highlighting and subverting the dangerous aspects of tribal culture and uncritical western thought systems embedded in our ways of thinking. He complained of three tendencies that afflict African societies:
A failure to modify or improve old ways of life that no longer serve us
The overriding of individual choice in every realm of action (lifestyle/politics/religion, etc)
Perceiving rules, policies and actions as decisions of some supernatural source
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On several occasions, I have been judged solely based on my tribal identity — the most recent was just last year in the UK. And the reveal is always in the statement, “Oh I didn’t know you would … because you are Igbo. And I know Igbos are ___ (add stereotype). I always laugh these instances off and sometimes will talk briefly about the dangers of holding on to stereotypes probably handed down to us by parents or environments into which we were born. I never take these seriously because I know these are often borne out of ignorance than malice. Nonetheless, I know that even ignorance can be dangerous to its victims. Moreso, in an age of access to knowledge resources, we all have no excuses to hold on to beliefs that no longer serve us — as a community and as individuals. Even more important, we must pause and do the work now to identify these faulty, and dangerous, ideas we have about people or the world based solely on what we heard as children. Then we must discard these beliefs and every body of knowledge we have built up from these falsehoods. What is it that you believe? Why do you believe it? Where is the evidence? Is there any chance this evidence is biased and false?
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Having been a teacher in the classroom, one of my biggest difficulties was getting my students to ask questions. A skill necessary to function in an increasingly global world is critical thinking. But for children and young people to practice this, they need to question everything around them without fear of violent reactions from adults. They need to question ideas, people and systems. But this is not often the case because even within the classroom, our teachers are themselves products of a culture that insists on the inerrancy of elders who are the repository of wisdom and knowledge. When they speak and instruct, we can only listen and obey. We are all a product of this system, and every day I engage in the self-work to unlearn this. I have to re-educate myself that it is ok and essential to ask questions and critically appraise the foundation of everything. Nothing is outside the reach of critical thought: culture, tribal beliefs, religion or authority. I believe strongly that it is only when we can subject everything to the power of our reason that we can begin to build better lives for ourselves and our society. And these things will not hold the potential of being weaponised for the purpose of politics or greed. Even as an adult, I still experience peers trying to limit the scope of my questions. I think it is this tendency to create a mental cordon around some concepts that contribute to fascinating paradoxes where one person fundamentally opposes racism abroad while sustaining tribalism at home. What do you protect from the light of reason? Why? Is it to protect these ideas or because you aren’t sure of your foundations for holding them?
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Africans, particularly sub-Saharan Africans, are often considered incurably religious. This is often said because of the need for many to look beyond this life for answers to prevailing questions about the present. In 1975, the theologian, John Mbiti write that to be truly African is to be religious. My point here is not to engage the accuracy of these claims but to discuss their implications to our sense of agency. How often do we make recourse to religion to explain and solve problems connected to personal or political decisions in our lives, including issues of economics, health or security? How often do we see real problems, such as one with our democracy and development, in supernatural terms when we know practical ways to make life better for us all? How often, because of this, have we failed to hold ourselves and others accountable to their responsibilities? My point here is, as we worship as Christians or Muslims, we must remember that in our hands and actions are the power to shape our world. Do not, for whatever reason, forget this.
I am quite aware that my outline above is quite a problematic exercise since it asks you to question and potentially reject certain conceptual attitudes that inform and shape your worldview. But, in our collective effort to build a better world, country and continent, for ourselves and generations to come, this path of self-education is a first step.
Henry Anumudu
