Mind restructuring: African renaissance, critical thinking & creativity -By Richard Odusanya

For the records: it is a day dedicated to the memory of the global icon and one of the greatest son of Africa that ever lived. A great mind, a warrior from the land of the Zulu and a freedom fighter. ‘Ta-ta Madiba’ Nelson Mandela of the blessed memory.

It becomes imperative and absolutely important to align with the attributes of the great African our hero ‘Ta-ta Madiba” on a day specially dedicated to the mind of freedom. He once said, that: “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

PLO Lumumba, an undisputed pan-Africanist and unarguably one of the brightest minds from Africa, further validates Madiba’s assertion about freedom, when he said: “If young Africans should have one duty, it should be to irritate those in power in such an organized manner that they have no choice but to do what is right.”

It is a great honour and privilege to use the occasion of the “Mandela Day” to appreciate our living legends, particularly, those who seek for peaceful ‘revolution’ and continue to sacrifice and defend the rights of our citizens. Responsibility is a grace we give ourselves. It is not something imposed from outside of us.

The subject of cognitive development, mind restructuring, and the ability to reflect critically on sustainability challenges are essentially, part of the attributes of our hero ‘Ta-ta Madiba’, the global icon and one who lives in our minds. Africans should imbibe such virtues, particularly in this era of poor leadership and despotism.

It should be noted that the movement for the emancipation of Africans from mental slavery will be abortive without digging into areas where we’ve been mentally incapacitated without knowing. Although, slavery has been abolished for centuries now and African nations got their independence, the large emotional and psychological harm brought by the colonization of Africa still lingers as it remains with contemporary Africans today. Overtime, this deadly grip on the thoughts of Africans has succeeded in doing more damage to our societies overtime.

Firstly, the colonial masters made sure they destroyed our languages by banning it and at same time putting their own languages as our respectable language and forcing us to acquire expertise with it. They called our parents language “vernacular”.

They understand that language is essential to the expression of lifestyle due to the fact it’s a means by which the values, ideals and customs are communicated. They know if they manage to split a tribe from their language, they will spoil their lifestyle in the long run and lose a piece of whom they are.

That’s precisely what the colonialists did. They also made Africans answer to their names compulsorily in the name of Christianity rather than names that reflect our roots and many more, the list is endless.

The colonialists created an intellectual slave out of us by making us see our culture and history as primitive. Africans have been pressured to desert their very own culture to undertake that of the white man. Today, many of the fears and negative emotions we have towards culture of our ancestors are a direct end result of the the anti-African ideology that was taught and harshly enforced on our fathers.

In the words of one of our respected figures, founding father and an undisputable pan-Africanists of the blessed memory, Kwame Nkrumah: “Africa is a paradox which illustrates and highlights neo-colonialism. Her earth is rich, yet the products that come from above and below the soil continue to enrich not Africans predominantly, but groups and individuals who operate to Africa’s impoverishment.”

Today, as we remember him and celebrate his legacies, we shall continue to appeal to our compatriots across the nations of the continent of Africa – to brace up and defend the rights of our fellow citizens and insist on transparency, accountability and good governance. It saddens the mind to note the events of the past few days in South Africa and Nigeria.

The probably two most important nations of the continent of Africa are in deep mess; such a despicable and unfortunate situations. While in Nigeria, the political gladiators and members of the parliament (NASS), were busy with how to shrink the civic space and enact the kinds of legislation that will further compromise electoral process, South Africa is burning. African youths arise.

Richard Odusanya is a Social Reform Crusader and the convener of AFRICA COVENANT RESCUE INITIATIVE (ACRI).