By Ayodele Oni
A Professor of Philosophy at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba, (AAUA) in Ondo state, Prof. Benson Akinnawonu, has proffered reasons why Africans are not time conscious.
Speaking at the Inaugural lecture of the University, the Don pointed out that the ignoble African Time Syndrome has emerged as one of the major problems confronting the continent in its quest for development.
He said his earlier research on African and Western concepts of time showed that the attitude of Africans toward time keeping is a function of the subjective nature of their time reckoning.
“African’s attitude toward time keeping is a function of the subjective nature of their time reckoning which has become inherent trait of African consciousness. This has manifested in African’s inability to keep appointments. This trend tends to tempt people into believing that Africans are not time conscious.”
He said the genuine liberation and development of Africa cannot be attained unless it is based on a critical analysis of the traditional conceptual schemes that are typical of African society.
In the lecture titled “The Philosophic Spirit in the Quest for African Sustainable Development and the Imperative of Indigenous Knowledge Forms,” the lecturer observed that in order to foster African development through indigenous knowledge, conscious efforts must be made to salvage the endangered African indigenous languages and knowledge from drifting into oblivion.
“The growth and preservation of indigenous knowledge of all kinds for the purpose of development must be given priority attention if Africa must progress among the Comity of Nations.
“All the branches of human knowledge, especially the sciences and the humanities, that evolved from natural philosophy, must by necessity appreciate the cultivation of the philosophic spirits of rationality and enquiry which are the hallmarks of human intellectual development.
“Government’s focus in the education sector should not only be directed to the core sciences i.e., Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), philosophy should be incorporated in order to integrate capacity for enquiry, critical thinking and sense of morality in the school’s curriculum. A modified STEM is, therefore, proposed called STEMP where P represents Philosophy”.
Prof. Akinnawonu, condemned the assumption by people that philosophy as a career does not guarantee job placement, stressing that philosophy as an important discipline whose value both to the individual and the society cannot be underestimated without grave consequence.
He advised Governments, proprietors and other stakeholders in the education sector to exercise caution in their curricular review decisions not to undermine the relevance or the important value of philosophy to nation building and sustenance of the good life.
“Rather than denigrating the discipline of Philosophy, all other disciplines should engage in research collaborations with those in philosophy for the advancement of knowledge. A river that forgets its source will definitely dry up. This is presumably the reason why things have fallen apart in the continent of Africa.”
The Don advocated the revival of “our traditional moral values through the promotion and development of our rich indigenous knowledge forms.”
