Death of culture: Africa’s greatest challenge

By Lazarus Sauti

Africa is a continent rife with culture….and as we were taught in primary school; culture is our way of life.

Culture reflects values and beliefs held by members of a community for long periods, often spanning generations.

As a result, every community in the world has specific cultural practices and beliefs, some of which are beneficial to all members. As a result, African culture after all is the way of life developed by Africa’s people as they cope with survival. Therefore, the death of this culture is a cause for concern.

Harare-based writer Tendai Makaripe highlighted that there are a plethora of issues that have caused a subsequent demise of African culture.

He says, “Africans are exposed to various forms of media and these forms promote the Western way of eating, dancing and other issues such as homosexuality. For example, African youths are exposed to pornography and this contributes heavily to early marriages, sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies.”

Makaripe goes on to say, “The African family is no longer playing its role of promoting and protecting African cultures and for this, African culture is suffering.”

Musician and journalist Best Masinire blames the African education system as the main contributor to the passing away of African cultures.

The crooner says, “The education system in Africa is promoting Western ideologies instead of local content that promotes and protects African cultures.”

Masinire says most African countries prioritise exotic languages at the expense of African languages. Honestly, by prioritising foreign languages, Africa is promoting Western cultures at the expense of indigenous cultures.

He says, “Language is a carrier of culture. Therefore, the promotion of Western languages at the cost of local languages is contributing immensely to the death of African culture.”

Cultural enthusiast Peter Tinashe Kaviya says the Western countries are putting pressure to Africa and her subjects to adopt Western practices that support Western ideologies and at the same time erode values of Africans.

“Since most African countries heavily depend on Western ‘super powers’ for aid and support, they have been forced to adopt Western ideologies,” said Kaviya.

Kaviya, who is also a journalist in his own right, adds: “African nations and nationals are busy furthering ideologies and goals of the West instead of propagating African ideologies. Malawi and South Africa, for example, have disregarded the African culture and adopted Western practices such as homosexuality to appease their Western sponsors.”

Honestly, the death of African culture is seriously affecting countries within and across the continent.

“The major effect of losing our culture is lack of identity. We cease to know things that are African. As Africans, we tend to think that we are second best. We are no longer proud of our diverse cultures,” Makaripe said.

Kaviya says culture is the mortar within a society; it consists of those values and norms that bind people together and drive them towards certain goals that they set for themselves. Thus, the absence of an indigenous culture is the same as the absence of mortar when building a house.

Meanwhile, the promotion of African cultures requires a holistic and multisectoral approach. This means all players in the arts and culture sectors, community leaders, policy-makers, responsible ministries and governments in Africa have critical roles to play.

“Political leaders in the continent have a role to play in developing and maintaining African cultures. They should conscientise Africans on the importance of preserving African cultures and to be proud of different cultures,” Makaripe said.

As a musician, Masinire urged African governments and other musicians to use their music as an effective tool to promote African cultures.

He said: “African governments should use music and the custodians of that music (musicians) to stop the death of African culture. Music is a carrier of culture; it teaches, informs and educates.

Thus, Africans can be taught how to eat, communicate, dress and behave all through music.”

Masinire goes on to say, “You cannot love that which you do not know. Consequently, for Africans to love their culture, they need to be devoted to it. Accordingly, opinion leaders in the continent should try to make African cultures more interesting and in the way, the subjects will easily love and support it.”

To make African cultures interesting, they should package and document them in a way that is appreciable to the African masses.

Ultimately, it is also the responsibility of players in the education sector in African countries to prevent the loss of African cultures. They should make African languages compulsory in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions.

Kaviya says: “Most educational curriculums in Africa are influenced by the West and they serve their interest. Therefore, the curriculums should be changed to suit African values.”

Stakeholders in arts sectors should conduct workshops to appraise people on the importance of African cultures.

Africa should go back to the African way of doing things. The body can die but the soul cannot. Accordingly, the African soul should be re-ignited and the concept of ubuntu should be re-inforced and furthered in the continent.

Makaripe says, “African states should fund their local publishing industries to help promote and protect African languages and cultures.”

Without fear or favour, the African continent has lost its values and its confidence over the years and there is nothing anyone except Africans themselves can do to change this sad situation. Consequently, it is high time the continent preserved its culture by protecting it from vultures who want to eradicate it for their selfish gains.