The role of indigenous knowledges in development has not been examined enough. Indigenous knowledge systems tend to mean different things to different people, so does culture. Culture is undoubtedly critical for development but often underplayed or misunderstood. Development in Africa remains elusive. Those who are supposed to benefit from interventions aimed at improving wellbeing are often not involved in decision making regarding those interventions. Indigenous knowledges, cultures and indigenous languages are usually ignored when conceiving policies aimed at advancing development. This book – a collection of chapters on these issues – demonstrates the importance of indigenous knowledge systems in development. Indigenous knowledges play a role in development practice because of their capacity to generate transferable local skills and set energies in motion to reduce the prevailing inequalities on the continent. In an effort to resolve the enduring puzzle of development in Africa, the role of indigenous knowledges is thus affirmed as important. The book advocates for a paradigm shift in development thinking and practice that reinforces the use of indigenous knowledges as a first line of action in the process of development in Africa.
The role of indigenous knowledges in development has not been examined enough. Indigenous knowledge systems tend to mean different things to different people, so does culture. Culture is undoubtedly critical for development but often underplayed or misunderstood. Development in Africa remains elusive. Those who are supposed to benefit from interventions aimed at improving wellbeing are often not involved in decision making regarding those interventions. Indigenous knowledges, cultures and indigenous languages are usually ignored when conceiving policies aimed at advancing development. This book – a collection of chapters on these issues – demonstrates the importance of indigenous knowledge systems in development. Indigenous knowledges play a role in development practice because of their capacity to generate transferable local skills and set energies in motion to reduce the prevailing inequalities on the continent. In an effort to resolve the enduring puzzle of development in Africa, the role of indigenous knowledges is thus affirmed as important. The book advocates for a paradigm shift in development thinking and practice that reinforces the use of indigenous knowledges as a first line of action in the process of development in Africa.
Preface
Foreword
Acknowledgements
Introduction
PART I: African Indigenous Systems
Chapter 1: Cultural and Linguistic Dilemmas in Africa’s Development Trajectory (Ibraheem Muheeb and Manji Diyal)
Chapter 2: The Development Sustainability of Indigenous Technologies in Africa (Jacob Ogunniyi)
Chapter 3: Rethinking African Indigenous Knowledge and Practices for Environmental Sustainability in Africa (Manji Diyal)
Chapter 4: Ethics and Culture: An Analysis of Moral Values of African Aesthetic Creativity (Modestus N. Onyeaghalaji)
Chapter 5: Culture Misrepresentation through Language Attitudes: A Study of Francophone Cameroonian Migrants in South Africa (Atabongwoung Gallous)
Chapter 6: Integrating Culture in an Urban Transformation Framework in South Africa (Ajebush Shafi, Mzo Sirayi and Mammo Muchie)
Chapter 7: The Ethics of Ubuntu and its Role in Fostering Justice for Development in South Africa (Mofihli Teleki and Serges Djoyou Kamga)
PART II: Africa’s Development
Chapter 8: Creative Industries: Foreign Direct Investment as the Driving Tool for Sustainable Development (Abisuga-Oyekunle Oluwayemisi and Mammo Muchie)
Chapter 9: Colonial Legacies, Africa’s International Relations and Agenda 2063 (Eric Niyitunga)
Chapter 10: The ‘Invisible Force’ in the Downfall of the African Standby Force (Francis Onditi)
Chapter 11: Africa’s Democratic Evolution: The Role of Flawed Elections, Incumbency and Third-Term Syndrome in Political Instability (Westen K. Shilaho)
Chapter 12: Africans and Africa: Cultural Nationalism and the Rebirth of Pan-Africanism (Temitope Fagunwo)
Chapter 13: Developing the African Dream: African Unity, a Prerequisite for African Development (Somikazi Tom)
Chapter 14: Free Trade in Africa: Macroeconomic Convergence, Possibilities and Prospects (Vusi Gumede)
Chapter 15: Transformation from Millennium Development Goals to Sustainable Development Goals: The Imperative of African Unity in Africa’s Development (Ajinde Oluwashakin and Ariyo Aboyade)
Conclusion
About the Compilers and Authors