Primitive Nigerian History vs Advanced Cultures

Much as we like to believe and understand that African culture is sophisticated and rich I am awed as my studies have brought me to the works of Thomas Jefferson, a founding father of America who paraphrased the ideas of 16th century English philosopher John Locke, who had lived almost a 100 years earlier, into the Declaration of Independence which he co-wrote and revised starting from about 1775 through to about 1783 (??)

Jefferson was so enthralled by the works of this philosopher Waxing poetic about inalienable rights and the social contract of government based on the consent of the governed, he cited them into the constitution. 

Even as I study them, I am mentally exhausted by these very advanced concepts that were widely circulated amongst the vested educated European aristocrats almost 400 hundred years ago and this Locke is just one of a multitude of philosophers with printed works of art. 

Those works of Locke were already painfully printed from the 16th century and carefully shipped to libraries in American colonies and were available for incorporation into the personal libraries of Jefferson who owned thousands of leather bound books all now part of the library of Congress who purchased 6487 (??) volumes from him in 1815. 

The puzzling soul crushing question is, where was Africa or Nigeria in 1775 and where are the works of our guru’s and intellectuals, the no doubt existed but their philosophies where orally transmitted as part of folklore and where never printed and there is no way to gauge authorship nor are the exposed in a format for further intellectual discourse or improvement.

Most Nigerians cannot even trace their ancestry beyond a great grandfather yet European monarchs and churches and governments had codified edicts and legislations and agreements dating back many centuries all serialized and available in their libraries. The even know where these philosophers and kings and lords are buried. 

Let us not be too harsh on ourselves and stop comparing our civilizations, these European countries are advanced civilizations, it would reduce our anxiety and help us understand the current travails we are facing as growing pains stemming from adopting norms and philosophies we do not understand.

It also did not help that the British annexed our territories, and allowed our cultures to die without recording them comprehensively before amalgamating us into Nigeria.


We have a long way to go as a country

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