Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Africa's Need for Scientific Development

Along with finance and economics there is perhaps no more vital discipline than science and technology to the growth and survival of a society or nation. Scientific advancement fuels a society’s economy, helps build and maintain its infrastructures, allows it to cultivate natural resources, improve the health of the citizenry, and generally improves the standard of living. Europe was just a small undeveloped collection of countries before they began to advance themselves by utilizing technology to conquer most of the known world. Despite being small in size and population, and possessing little natural resources, these countries were able to become wealthy with the use of science and technology. Though Europe is not unique in world history, their example speaks volumes about the power that science and technology can have on the development of nations. The potential development that science and technology could have on the continent of Africa, with all of its natural resources and population of over 800 million people is unfathomable. Individually African nations do not have the power and resources to bring about such a scientific renaissance, but collectively there are no limits to its advancements.

The continent of Africa has been the home of advanced civilizations and scientific discovery dating back thousands of years. The pyramids of ancient Egypt were so mathematically complex that many scientists cannot believe that their designs came from the minds of African men and women. The other Nile Valley civilizations of Africa which included mighty nations such as Meroe and Nubia mastered such disciplines as irrigation. The Dogon people of West Africa were master’s of astronomy and astrology centuries ago. The Grimaldi people of Southern Africa circum navigated the African continent and left writings all along the way thousands of years ago. Suffice it to say, scientific development in Africa is not a virgin undertaking, but rather is as germane to African societies as the drum. Traditional African scientific endeavors have always been based on the ancient Kemetic concept of Maat. Maat brings balance, and order to all of the creations of the universe. This concept is key because it directed African scientists to maintain a sense of balance with the environment when developing new technologies. Essentially, central to traditional African science was a primary respect for the environment. Therefore if a particular technology caused harm to the environment it was to be avoided.

The irony of Africa lagging far behind the “developing” world in terms of scientific endeavors, discoveries, breakthroughs, and is sad and disturbing. This irony is so prevalent because the trend is diametrically opposed to the history and legacy of African science and technological pioneering. There are countless organizations, foundations, and policies that focus on providing aid and assistance to Africa to fight such plagues as HIV/AIDS, poverty, civil war, corruption, and pollution. But these problems are merely symptoms of the foundational issue of a lack of development in the continent. From a purely natural resources perspective, Africa is “filthy rich”, as it contains nearly ever natural resource and product known to man. But in a world where the most powerful economies lie in countries with much less resource wealth such as Japan, and the UK, the African continent has become a mere afterthought. In the modern world where borders are disappearing with the advent of globalization, and quantum leaps in communication technology, knowledge is a much more important quantity than natural resources.

Can Africans Unite to Accomplish Such a Task?

The division due to the historical errors committed by Africans, and the foreign invaders from Asia and Europe, who instigated differences between groups, has led to the partition of an entire continent for more than 5,000 years. Disunity is a more destructive weapon to African development than any infectious disease, greedy lending institution, corrupt leader, or foreign aggressor. With this grim reality that has cultured an unhealthy African attitude critical questions must be addressed regarding the plausibility of a continent wide plan to promote science and technology. Can the innumerable ethnic groups put aside centuries’ old divisions and work together? Is it plausible for 54 sovereign nations to coordinate operations?

The short answer to this essential question of unity is yes. But due to the tremendous historical and contemporary obstacles facing African nations and African people, accomplishing such a task is a major uphill battle. The seeds of division have been sewed so deeply across nearly every society in Africa that it would be naïve to believe that successfully accomplishing the proposed goal in the short term is realistic. The poverty levels of the nations, along with astronomical debt have most stakeholders to view developing science and technology as a non-priority. Unfortunately many corrupt and/or incompetent leaders have usurped power in countries such as the Sudan, and Togo. Without a strong institution in place to monitor the funds or activities for the foundation’s goals, millions of dollars could be wasted or stolen.

Cheikh Anta Diop repeatedly stated that the biggest obstacle to African unity is tribalism. (Diop, 1991) The history of Africa goes far beyond what many historians call the colonial and pre-colonial periods. What must be understood is that many of the aspects of behavior and traditions that are commonly viewed as being germane to African culture are in fact adaptations of foreign concepts. Though many anthropologists and historians attempt to “sugar coat” the effects of the aggression and destruction by foreigners on Africa as a whole, the truth is that African culture and people have been compromised to immeasurable levels. Contrary to traditional African culture, tribalism has been propagated as a virtue, rather than a divisive force. This is not to say that different people occupying different parts of the continent should not celebrate the unique aspects to their subcultures. But tribalism occurs when groups become so rabidly nationalistic towards their own group that they are unable to connect and work with other groups that share many more similarities than differences.

No comments: