Afrocentrism: African way of looking and doing things

[_Waziri_]

Good greetings all,

For sometime I was away and when I got some time at my disposal I branched in another website, specifically Nigeria Village Square, where I saw an interesting debate on issues as summarized, in the title here. You guess what? I joined the debate and made about 20 postings in about 21 forum pages like this one.

My postings as well as those of other participants cover issues as:

What can be defined as Africa geographically?
Who can be qualified to be called an African?
Can issues like genotype or phenotype matter in the definition of an African?
Can Black Americans be seen as Africans?
Can the Arabs in North Africa be seen as Africans?
What is African way of looking and doing things(perspective)?
How do we get this African perspective?
Can Islam or Christianity be termed as compatible with the people of African origin?
In all this what is the place of a person of African origin in the scheme of things in human history?

All these questions were attempted by myself as much other learned personalities from among the Yorubas, Igbos, Ijaws and myself the only Hausa Muslim Northern Nigerian, plus a lady who is not a Nigerian and did not tell us where in Africa she is coming from.

The debate took to serious and meaningful dispassion and I am sure those among our brothers and sisters who find time to look at all the submissions will emerge with fresh perspective of themselves and the world around them. Find below one of my submissions and the link to the complete debate, I started contributing from page 5 and had about 20 submission by the time the debate reached page 21:

Many thanks all,

I have also waited to read the last part of Eja on Black Supremacy but seeing that it is taking time to come I decide to drop some lines making observations on the idea and the progress of the debate.

I refused earlier on to discuss, in detail, the concept and practice of White or Black Supremacy because I believe we are aware of the institutional attribute of the said ideology ( White Supremacy) and since we are thinking of building something of African, and having understood how White Supremacy started with those thoughts and philosophies that append greater value in race and color, I warned that we  must try to avoid that in the foundational crux of our ideological template.

But then there are sweeteners. When it is said we Africans must get freedom. Every African will give a nod.

This goes with all other sweeteners as justice, truth and fairness! They all evoke certain common emotion of agreement among us and this is why I feel agreed with many of what Eja said in his, magnum opus .

But then, I sincerely feel the discussion has passed that level. We are now at the level where we want lay out the principles of how to be just fair and free as Africans. And this called us to define who belongs to us and who does not.

Here comes the questions:

1. Are we content with who America or Europe say is of us or not?

2. Or are we content with who Arabs say is our own or not?

3. How do we define ourselves by  ourselves as different from how America or Arabia define us?

In this Eja in his previous posts seems to have agreed with the American definition of who belongs to the Black Race to the effect that he can accept those Afro-Americans with white ancestry as he clearly mentioned several times. What we are yet to know is his position on the Arab definition which took those with black ancestry as their own.

Wayfarer, doesn't seem to agree with Ejaon that since in post #164 he made it clear that he does not consider the many Afro-Americans with dual ancestry as belonging to the black race. He also rejected the Arabs of dual ancestry from our claims.

Area boy, can quickly reject those Arabs with black phenotype as Africans as much as Nero would do the same.


DeepThought, on his part, rejected the American definition and made it clear that black Africans may mean different thing to him in Nigeria.

But what is common to all these positions is in the fact that those keeping to them did not give us a detailed alternative of how we can get to identify an African. No self evolved alternative from all quarters and this leaves us with nothing to de-construct or construct again. No substance to respond to.

I am wondering if anybody could make their detailed submission with premise and conclusion that can afford me a response. I think I have, in this, been doing that. 


Khalilurrahman

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/board/parallel-threads/45666-afrocentric-i-e-africa-centred-perspective.html

 

[Dan-Borno]

Wani kayan sai amale -  zuma tafi da zakinki!!!! ;D
Still reading and re-reading  ;)

[Muhsin]

Wallahi kuwa, DB. I've been reading this post but I barely understand where it actually heads.

[Abbas Bubakar El-ta'alu]

Assalamu alaikum!!!
                Mallam Waziri, the questions put up in your of course serious debate are nowadays being approached differently, depending on the modus operandi one has in mind. For example, while in trying to somewhat answer the questions "Who can be qualified to be called an African?", "Can issues like genotype or phenotype matter in the definition of an African?", "Can Black Americans be seen as Africans?", and "Can the Arabs in North Africa be seen as Africans?", The Director:  International Programmes, The International People's College, Elsinore, Denmark, Garba Diallo, has the notion that "As the cradle of life and the starting journey of humanity everybody can claim to be African. Even the racist Apartheid architects called themselves and their language Afrikaan while they oppressed the black South Africans. The Arab countries of North Africa are full members of the various African continental and regional organisations, while they create exclusive, only-Arab organisations like the UMA (union of the Maghreb Arab established in 1990)". At the same time, the South Africans refer to the blacks in South Africa as "the Africans", just as they often spoke of "the coloureds" and "the Asians (or Indians)". There lies the heart of a problem. Racial division in South Africa, and one in which the earlier inhabitants of the land—who were oppressed for almost half a century—are now described with a term, which to an outside like myself, makes them look like the bona fide inhabitants of the country.
                To be candid, the matter is abstract. But that whoever is an African, knows that he or she is one.