The African renaissance concept was first articulated by Cheikh Anta Diop in a series of essays beginning in 1946, which are collected in his book Towards the African Renaissance: Essays in Culture and Development, 1946-1960. The concept was further popularized by former South African President Thabo Mbeki during his term of office, heralding the beginning of the African renaissance, the same desire that drove the European renaissance. However, Mbeki’s articulation of the renaissance seemed to be in the tradition of early pan-African philosophers like Dr W.E.B Du Bois, Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere and many other African legends. Hence, the argument of this article is that no one can talk of an African renaissance without any reference to pan-Africanism and Black consciousness because they too stand in the tradition of African renewal or consciousness. Therefore, the African renaissance of Thabo Mbeki is preceded by these African philosophies of renewal. The term African renaissance was never used to refer to pan-Africanism and Black Consciousness, even though, in some sense, they were renaissance philosophies. They represented a peak of renaissance in African philosophy. It is also important to make a distinction between African renaissance and European renaissance. They too emerged at different periods, contexts and with different objectives. African renaissance philosophy emerged as a political philosophy of liberation of the African people. European renaissance emerged as a counter-discourse to supernatural knowledge. Though it began innocently as a philosophy of rationalism, and self-determination, its universalism made it a political instrument of subjugation. Instead of building self-determination on the indigenous people, it suppressed them, and left a legacy of non-beings. This state of being was only restored by African renaissance philosophies. The conditions of the African people are a legacy of European colonial renaissance.  The purpose of this article is to examine Thabo Mbeki’s theory of African renaissance and its shortcomings.

One of the enduring “inherited circumstances” of colonialism in Africa is the introduction of an Eurocentric education system. The purpose was not to inculcate and develop African indigenous knowledge and cultural values, but to undermine African history and the ideas of the indigenous people in order to pave the way for the so-called civilization. For decades, the products of this system have failed to find pragmatic solutions to Africa’s political, social, economic and technological challenges from within and outside the continent. Poverty, unemployment, inequality, inadequate infrastructure and poor health care have remained serious barriers to Africa’s advancement. The continent has experience unprecedented economic, social and diplomatic marginalization entrenched in her inability to influence “decision making, agenda setting, and thought control” in international issues. This study seeks to identify and critically examines the nature of colonial education policies in Africa with a view to proffering a sustainable and practical alternative. The researcher adopted a descriptive and analytical approach to reveal key policy-based challenges in the African education system, such as such as the continued inclusion of Eurocentric education policies in African schools’ curricula, lack of a homegrown education plan and widespread corruption among African leaders in public and private institutions. The paper posits that decolonizing the African education curriculum holds the key to pragmatically advancinging the African educational system and, by extension, technological development.  This paper calls for a radical approach to the deconstructionion of inherited colonial education policies in Africa.

There is the prevalence of left-wing intellectuals who become crucial for any movement of change because their talents, traditionally cultivated in the service of the established order, are indispensable for any project of transformation. In this reprise, intellectuals are more than functionaries of power held by others. They are, in all circumstances the drivers of change. This paper will argue that the organisational and literary skills of intellectualsare fundamental to reviving and sustaining the African Renaissance in South Africa.  Whilst the views of selected African intellectuals will be interrogated, centripetal to the discussion will be the views expressed by Mongane Wally Serote in his book ‘Hyenas’ (2000).

Historically, the expression and term ‘Renaissance’ has its root in European history as a fundamental part of what has been referred to as a period of turning point in the European culture and civilization- a period of almost unparalleled creativity and hopefulness. In Africa, even though the phenomenon is not new in its history, current research has shown that the term ‘African Renaissance’ has its practical articulation in the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) a continental monetary and political upturn outlined and endorsed by the African Union in 2001 as initiated by renowned African leaders. The motivation is the consciousness that Africa ought to have moved beyond its present stage by striven to take its rightful position among the comity of nations by effectively harnessing its potentials, reduce the sources of conflict, restore Africa’s self-esteem and turn the continent into a region of economic magnificence, peace and stability, among other objectives. In spite of these lofty objectives and ideas, the reality is that long after independence, many African countries are still theatres of war with their citizens wallowing in abject poverty with high level of illiteracy and unemployment. While efforts have been made to resolve these challenges it remains persistent and unabated. The reason is not far-fetched. Several attempts have long ignored the constitutional structure for government and politics in Africa. It is on this note that this paper, using historical and qualitative methods of analysis study provides an in-depth examination of the implications of African renaissance on constitutional development.

The situation of terrorism and insurgency in Nigeria goes far beyond that of violent intergroup relations created by a scramble for resources and explainable with the frustration- aggression theory. While a thought in that direction would most likely provide a great background for an explanation of the situations: Aguleeri/Umuleeri, Ife Modakeke, Jos/Birum and others; recent developments may demand a deeper and further probe especially considering the Boko Haram insurgency in the country. Scholars and practitioners in the social sciences and humanities often generally explain concepts such as terrorism and insurgency as though they are made of and from the same socio-political milieu, and with little sensitivity to the peculiarities of each state's circumstances, Subsequently, it is clear that without localizing their explanations and causes we will have difficulty in addressing them from workable viewpoints. It is in order to tow this lane that the current paper intends to examine the peculiar issues that provoked, catalyzed and subsequently aggravated the Boko Haram scenario in Nigeria; vis a vis why and how it is accorded certain themes and perspectives by international analysts. Specifically, the paper asserts that terrorism in Nigeria is largely a creation of corrupt leadership and attempts to address it must take cognizance of this else it continually ends up in vain.

From reports in both print and electronic media, it has become obvious that South Africa is under a wave of unacceptable social behaviour. The situation poses a challenge for those who are custodians of the culture to reinstitute the traditional value systems that have over the years guided and characterized African communities.  The crucial question here is: Which moral values should guide those assigned with the task of reconstructing the nation? In response, the article advocates for the retrieval and reinstatement of critical African traditional cultural value systems that can be employed to purge the country of anti-social behavioural tendencies such as the grab-and-run syndrome and others (list at least two others) that tend to undermine the fundamental human relations principles that are supposed to govern society and are meant to inculcate the spirit of love, compassion and respect for one’s neighbour. This article aims to identify some of the prevalent anti-social behavioural modes in modern-day South Africa and their negative impact on the country’s socio-economic development.  

In both academic and government administration discourse and debates on the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, significant emphasis has been placed on the devastation of the environment by oil and gas exploration, and its attendant and accompanying socio-economic, political and environmental challenges identifiable by the rate of persistent conflict, bastardization of the people’s social values and piercing poverty worsened by the greed of oil companies and limited response by the government of Nigeria. This work is novel in that it takes a departure from the usual analysis and common discourse by empirically investigating, using both qualitative and quantitative research design method, the impacts of the operations of oil multinationals on the indigenous language of host communities in the Niger Delta region. This is against the critical role played by linguistics in fostering the spirit of ethnic identity, unity, loyalty and nationalism which in turn engender peace and sustainable development. Thus, the work examines the dynamics of interconnectedness between the (un)friendly activities of the multinational corporations and the (under)development and (under)representation of the host communities’ language. It will also examine the extent to which oil exploration activities have been responsible for the disruption of indigenous cultures as well as its effect on people's indigenous and local languages in the region. The study calls for the re-visitation of the operations of oil multinationals in the region for the avoidance of another form of (linguistic) imperialism, especially in the face of debates on multinational hegemony as they can help in the linguistic and cultural development of Nigeria.

This interview was conducted with Mazizi Kunene in Durban on the 6^th October 2000 as part of my research project on Protest Literature.  Kunene is a South African writer whose literary perspectives are similar to those of Njabulo Ndebele and Lewis Nkosi. This interview reveals Kunene’s strongly held convictions on the nature of literary projects and the criticism thereof. Like Ndebele, Kunene believes that literature should of necessity focus on ‘interiority’ rather than ‘exteriority’. These two writers and literary critics deplored the nature of Protest Fiction produced by Black writers during the Apartheid era and their insistence was largely on advocacy of literature based on so-called literary conventions. It is hoped, that this interview will assist scholars to delve into the literary mind of one of the giants of South African literature.

The perspective adopted in this paper is based on the assumption that indigenous knowledge systems are an integral part of a people’s “weltanshauung” (worldview) born of people’s experiences and thought processes, as such they have the capacity to mould the youth in modern society. Given that traditional youth development is an activity which helps us to understand the world, there is a need to interface it with indigenous knowledge, for the benefit of African youth and Africa at large. This study employed qualitative indigenous research methods and narrative inquiry based research to gain a richer and deeper understanding of elders’ views through narratives. Collected data revealed that Indigenous Knowledge has a place in rural youth education, and that communities are of prime importance in terms of being bearers of such knowledge. It is therefore recommended that the previously marginalised communities be drivers of the rural youth development as they can contribute meaningfully to this cause.

The purpose of this study was to appraise the effects of globalisation on young people in Botswana with special reference to young people in Thamaga village in Kweneng district. The research study also aimed to identify the contributory factors of globalization to young people in the district. The study administered face–to–face and focus groups interviews to 24 participants (two focus groups with ten participants each; one focus group was for parents while the other was for young people) and four individuals who were the leaders of organisations in the village/ Data was collected in this manner to give the researcher a conducive environment to ask open-ended questions and to get in-depth understanding of the participants’ perspectives about contributory factors and effects of globalization. Data was analysed thematically and systematically to identify and expand significant themes that emerged from the responses and perceptions of participants about the contributory factors and effects of globalization. A significant finding of the study is that young people are immensely affected by globalization. The majority of the participants revealed their belief that education is the key to a better life, that globalization impacts young people socio-culturally and economically, as it is the process of worldwide integration, interaction and interconnection that comes from the interchangeable spheres of all aspects of life. The rise of information and communication technology is seen by most as a contributory factor to the effects of globalisation.

Traditional African practices of u laya nwana are currently influenced by dominant contemporary practices which are largely Euro-western in nature. U laya nwana seems problematic in families these days. There seems to be a contradiction between how parents wish to raise their children and what the actual parenting practices are. Most parents, despite their intention to blend traditional norms and values in u laya nwana are faced with challenges on how to infuse them in modern life. The researcher departs from a premise that, if u laya nwana is infused with traditional norms and values, the practice will be more effective in grooming well-rounded citizens. The article reflected on how ndayo ya nwana could contribute towards the revitalisation of the young children in South Africa. The article site was located within the Vhembe District, in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. This article utilised the qualitative research method of enquiry with the use of in-depth interviews in order to gain insight into the perceptions of the indigenous knowledge holders in the area of u laya nwana. It is anticipated in this article that new insights on the depth and wisdom practised by indigenous people in the philosophy of u laya nwana will be identified. The Afro-sensed learning strategies were developed to revive ndayo-guidance on up-bringing children of South Africa.