A return to the Source: Ontological regressive veneration of the past? Or an epistemic charge for the future?

 

 

Recently, at a conference in Accra, Ghana, Professor Bheki Mngomezulu posed a thought-provoking question about the lack of academic research conducted using Ubuntu as a philosophical framework. This made me reflect on Amilcar Cabral's call for African people to return to their cultural roots as a positive force for change in societies that are grounded in cultural identity and dignity. I also considered Magema Fuze's challenge to the knowledge canons that promote colonial paradigms and devalue African contributions, especially those of the Zulu people. I remembered Steve Biko's argument that the psychological freedom of Black people is a necessary precursor to their political liberation. Finally, I reflect on Fela Kuti's statement, "You Africans please listen to me as Africans, and you non-Africans, listen to me with an open mind."

All these diverse African intellectuals' ideologies converge on a common charge: that language and culture should be integral aspects of African identity construction. As universities play a crucial role in individual identity formation, they must reconsider not only the methodologies and epistemologies that drive research, learning, and teaching but also the ontologies that underpin the overall institutional culture. If we choose to embrace Indigenous knowledge systems as an ontological framework, is this a regressive form of nostalgia or a necessary epistemic charge for the future? The decision is up to us.