The global spread of bioethics from its North-American and European provenance to non-Western societies is currently raising some concerns. Part of the concern has to do with whether or not the exportation of bioethics in its full Western sense to developing non-Western states is an instance of ethical imperialism or bioethical neocolonialism. This paper attempts an exploration of this debate in the context of bioethics in sub-Saharan Africa. Rather than conceding that bioethics has a colonial agenda in Africa, this paper defends the position that the current bioethics trend in sub-Saharan Africa is an unintended imperialistic project. It argues that its colonizing character is not entirely a product of the Western programmed goals of training and institution building; rather, it is a structural consequence of many receptive African minds and institutions. Though bioethics in Africa is turning out as a colonizing project, one serious implication of such trend, if unchecked urgently, is that bioethics’ invaluable relevance to Africa is being incapacitated. This paper, therefore, attempts a decolonizing trajectory of bioethics in Africa. Contrary to the pretense of ‘African bioethics,’ which some African scholars are now defending, this paper through the logic of decolonization makes case for ‘bioethics in Africa’. In such logic, the principle of existential needs is prioritized over the principle of identity and authenticity that define African voice in bioethics.
Needless but irrelevant attention has been given to the forms of educational curriculum and syllabuses that were given to African colonies by their administrators, as the most plausible route for the emergence of competent and upright minds that will occupy posterity to initiate and activate their development. There is hardly any part of Africa that is not a recipient of this unenviable colonial legacy. This is the case for Nigeria, a country that was a former colony of Britain. In 21st century Nigeria however, this admission no longer seems plausible perhaps owing to the upsurge in corruption, ethnicity, nepotism, lack of implementation of good policies, to name a few. Granted, these worrisome situations are not limited to Nigeria, they have served as the motivation for the emphasis to using indigenous ideals for pedagogy. The present research deduces its aim from this call, via the method of philosophical analysis to an aspect of Obafemi Awolowo’s philosophy which has been given minimal attention – his thoughts on education. Assuming the method of philosophical analysis, this study argues for the contemporary relevance of Awolowo’s pedagogy for Nigeria which could also be applicable in places that face challenges similar to Nigeria’s. It agrees with Awolowo that the intellectual enormity of the people is most important because when a person is educated, his mind and body would be developed and transformed; hence such a person would approach issues correctly, rightly and timely. These unfortunately are qualities that are on the downswing in recent times. The entire gauge of this research is therefore aimed at unpacking this philosophy with recommendations for application. It is the fervent conviction of this study that assuming Awolowo’s proposals, there are indigenous African legacies that may assist in charting the right course for the continent’s humans and educational developments.
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