Abstract
Debates and discourses around decolonisation continue to shape contemporary African philosophy. Once African philosophy was established as a field of study, the focus shifted to how scholars ought to philosophize within the context of Africa, what areas of interest need to be highlighted, and which research spaces needed more attention. The need for decolonisation, its plausibility and impact has taken a negative turn and many of the stances have moved into hostile dissension where academics are expressing a level of frustration towards the decolonisation project. We have seen scholars like Wiredu (2002) and Ngugi wa Thiong’o (1981) argue positively for the need for decolonisation, but this has changed over time, with scholars like Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò (2022) and Bernard Matolino (2020) taking a negative stance in this debate.
In this mini dissertation I aim to discuss the recent and growing shift within African philosophy by looking, very closely, at two of Táíwò’s claims against decolonisation. First, Táíwò argues that decolonisation has become ubiquitous thus losing its value and second, that decolonisation takes away agency of African people. Although Táíwò does not account for the implications of these claims, I think they can bring us to two distinct conclusions. The first and moderate one being that we should rethink the decolonisation project while the second and more extreme could be that we ought to abandon the decolonisation project altogether.
My aim is to provide a critical response to these claims and ultimately, provide a defense for decolonisation. In response, I first argue that colonialism is multifaceted and complex, therefore the decolonisation process will also have to be multi-dimensional, going beyond just the political and economic. I showcase this through, among others, the work of Ngugi wa’ Thiongo’s (1981) Decolonizing the Mind. I argue that decolonisation is the most suitable framework able to take into account our colonial histories and the various legacies of colonization. The second response is to Taiwo’s claim that decolonisation takes away agency. I respond by showing the power
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imbalances that existed within the colonial period are still manifest today. I argue that decolonisation is a restorative process that seeks to reaffirm agency, autonomy and the humanity that was stripped away by colonialism. I link agency to self-determination, epistemic freedom and decolonisation to show that decolonisation restores the agency of African people. It does not take away from the agency of Africans but instead reaffirms and reasserts agency.