DEATH OF THE AFRICAN CULTURE

What do you know of where you come from? I do not mean the nation or country in which you live. What do you know of you roots? What do you know of your ancestry, your language, culture and tradition? Someone once asked me a relevant but disturbing question; “In this modern era, of what use is knowing one’s dialect, culture and tradition?” For years I carried this question within me. I only got to know the answer to this question when I left my home country to venture abroad.

As every tree needs roots to survive, so do we humans need roots to have a firm stand. Our roots are made by the fibers of ancestry, culture, and language. Culture is identity, culture lays down the foundation on which families are built and even the nation, a good culture serves to protect and preserve important values. The African culture as a whole is quite an interesting one. The languages, meals, songs, clothes and laws tell stories and have our history preserved in them. Without this history, Africa as we know it will cease to exist.

I worry because increase urbanization, influence of the western education and even religion is gradually wiping out the African culture. I happen to be a product of these threats. Of what use is speaking in different foreign languages without knowing how to speak my mother tongue. How many Africans home and abroad pride themselves in speaking their own language, wearing their African fabrics, and portraying where they come from? It is even sad that Africans who have never left the shores of Africa suddenly have foreign accents and even cuss. It’s sad how our youths easily copy ill cultures from outside when we have such a beautiful culture. Our young men are sagging their trousers and cussing, while our women are frying their hair and bleaching their skins. Learning and trying to adopt other cultures is a beautiful and unifying thing. However losing one’s identity in the course of picking up a foreign culture is rather disturbing.

  

The African media should show Africa for what it is. Our schools should try to incorporate our culture into learning. Our parents should teach us the mother tongue first before teaching us any other language. From time to time, we should return home to share and identify with our roots. As Africans when we travel abroad, we should share our food, language, clothes and everything African with people of different cultures. Times are changing and fashion is changing. Let us incorporate our culture into the new trend of hairdos, music, fashion and even food…If we stand tall and proud of whom we are, the outside world would respect us. The reason they don’t respect us enough is we are more willing to embrace their culture than ours…Africans let us come together and keep our culture alive. I am proud of my African heritage…I hope you are too!

Love you all!

God bless!

Stay You!