Development as Peace: A Contextual Political Theology of Development From Yoruba Culture

Preface

Africa has learned so much from the West, especially through modernization. Meanwhile, the West also has something to learn from Africa. And more importantly, Africa has so much to learn from itself, from its own traditional way of life. My hope is that with this book, contemporary Africa, the West, and the entire world will learn something from traditional Africa.

I have undertaken this study on theology, politics, culture, and development with the aim to do and advocate a contextual political theology of development. I hold that politics should be done in God’s way, and development should be carried out from a holistic perspective, and that both political and developmental endeavours should be of relevance to cultural identity. If there exists a favourable political environment that promotes human wellbeing and growth, then development always ensues. Establishing the right political environment entails following God’s purposes and fulfilling the aspirations of the common people.

I initially wanted to write about Africa, but Africa is vast. I therefore resolved to write about the portion of Africa that I am most familiar with by virtue of birth, a portion of Africa occupied by the Yoruba people of Nigeria. I am aware that the discussion would be richer if I brought different perspectives from different African contexts rather than limiting myself to the Yoruba context. But I believe that my brothers and sisters from other parts of Africa can further enrich the discussion if they also undertake a similar writing project and stir up the same discussion from their traditional contexts. That is why I have developed a framework that I believe can work for any writer who wants to take the same path as I have taken in this book.

What I have done in the book is recount the wisdom of the Yoruba people as to how politics could be done to foster development. First, I have done this in relation to modernization theory. I write from the perspective that the idea of nation-state in Africa is undergirded by modernization theory. I have advocated authentic African thoughts and practices, against the background that modernization theory has not served Africa well. Still, brief as it is, I have pointed out the good things of the theory, which I regard as a good lesson for the contemporary African political leadership. For some, this may sound as if I contradict myself. I have done this as a respect for the wisdom of the Yoruba people, the wisdom that forms the basis for my discussion in this book. The Yoruba wisely say that Ọgbọ́n ò pin síbì kan (wisdom is not limited to one place), and that Ọmọdé gbọ́n, àgbà gbọ́n lafi dá’lẹ̀ Ifẹ̀ (Ile Ife, the ancestral origin of Yoruba people, was built by the wisdom of the young and the old). The idea behind these two proverbs is that if we are sober enough, we can acquire wisdom from anywhere, anyone, and any situation. Therefore, my primary intention is not just to critique the Western practices that have been imbibed in Africa, but also to commend them for their beneficial elements.

Second, as I recount the wisdom of the Yoruba people as to how politics could be done to foster development, I do so in relation to Scripture. As much as my discussion in this book may appear to romanticize Yoruba thoughts and practices, I do not by any means intend to equate them with the authority of the Scripture. I have affirmed Yoruba traditional thoughts and practices that are in line with the Scripture and condemned the ones that are not. One remarkable area where Yoruba political thoughts and practices fall below the biblical standard is in the engagement of deities as intermediaries between humans and God.

In my use of the Scripture, I have mostly quoted from eight translations: King James Version (KJV), New King James Version (NKJV), New Living Translation (NLT), The Living Bible (TLB), New International Version (NIV), Good News Translation (GNT), New American Standard Bible (NASB), and Amplified Bible (AMP). Selection of the translation for each quote is based on which of them, (1) best translate the particular text, in my view, and (2) use the most familiar language to contemporary readers.

Like other researchers, as I undertook the study I stumbled on many facts. Central to all the facts I stumbled upon is that, for the Yoruba people, development is peace. Placing this realization side-by-side with the Scripture, I have inferred that Yoruba traditional thoughts and practices about politics and development are strongly correlated with those of the biblical context. Yoruba fundamental thoughts on development, which is àlàáfíà, are similar to that of biblical thoughts on the same – shalom. Relating development to politics, Yoruba traditional developmental-political thoughts and practices are built on ethical living, borne out of the spirituality enforced and promoted by the king. This also has a strong correlation with the biblical developmental-political view.

Chapter 1 of the book provides the general overview of the study. In chapter 2, I argue for holistic development that caters for all human existential components. In connection to holistic development, I stress the need for Christian political theology that aims at development, with relevance to a cultural context, which is what contextual political theology of development is all about. In chapter 3, I begin the exploration of Yoruba thoughts and practices about development, and link this with chapter 4, where I discuss Yoruba developmental-political practices. In chapter 5, I discuss the distortion to the African political thoughts and practices by virtue of modernization. I also highlight lessons from modernization. In chapter 6, I discuss the implications of Yoruba developmental-political thoughts and practices, as opposed to modernization using the Scripture as the measuring rod. I conclude the study in chapter 7 by proposing some way forward for developmental-political practices in contemporary Africa.

This book is an outcome from my doctoral dissertation at Africa International University, Nairobi. When I got the opportunity to have it published with Langham Publishing, I felt a bit uncomfortable publishing it in a dissertation form. My discomfort was basically for two reasons: (1) Reading the dissertation all over again, I realised I had outgrown it. For instance, I realised some arguments that needed to be strengthened. (2) Reading a dissertation is sometimes like reading someone else’s old examination booklet. The examiners are the writer’s primary audience and therefore the work is largely presented with them in mind. For these two reasons, I took time to tighten some of my arguments and rework the presentation of the work so that it can naturally flow like a book.

I am grateful for the good environment provided for the foundation of the work by Africa International University. My gratitude goes to my supervisors, Prof. James Nkansah-Obrempong and Dr. Sicily Muriithi, who challenged me to explore something significant about my culture and who did not take substandard work from me. I appreciate all the professors who facilitated my doctoral seminars and those who examined my work; they all sharpened my thinking as I conducted and concluded the study. Thank you, Prof. Mark Shaw, Prof. Samuel Ngewa, Prof. William Dyrness, Dr. Grace Dyrness, Prof. Eric Aseka, Prof. Gyang Pam, and Prof. Yusufu Turaki.

I am also grateful for the personal interaction I had with Prof. Dankit Nassiuma, the university vice chancellor and Prof. Samuel Katia, the then deputy vice chancellor (Academic Affairs and Research). After I completed my term as student council president in the university as a master’s student, both of them would not stop talking about what I should do as my contribution to the state of politics in Africa. When I enrolled for PhD, I resolved to write something related to politics partly due to the influence both had on me. And here is my contribution to African politics.

I went back to Nigeria with my wife to carry out this research after five years of continuous stay in Kenya. I truly enjoyed the blessing of being received by Grace Baptist Church Meiran, Lagos. Thank you, Rev. Ben Tella and the entire church membership for the love of Christ that you demonstrated towards us during our stay. Mr. Zion and Mrs. Olubunmi Oke hosted us in their house and took good care of us for all the four months we spent in Nigeria. Many of the church members volunteered their time and material resources to be of help to my study. I cannot thank all of you enough.

I finalised the book as a faculty member at Africa College of Theology, Kigali, Rwanda, where I still currently serve. I appreciate Dr. Charles Mugisha, college chancellor, my friend Johnson Karamuzi, who was then the college principal, and Prof. Nathan Chiroma, the current principal, for the good environment their leadership provided for research and writing. Special appreciation also goes to the Langham team for the opportunity to publish this work. They have worked tirelessly in making the final copy better than the first manuscript.

To all my extended family, the Adegbiles and the Ajuwons, I am grateful that you are all always there for me. Alájọbí á gbè wá o. To Jackie Adegbile, my beautiful wife. I conducted the field research for this study shortly after we got married. We went together to Nigeria to do it. And that was our honeymoon. I am deeply grateful for the love and friendship we share. They put a spring in my step as I undertook this work. Nakupenda sana!

Chapter 1

Introduction

Before we proceed into this chapter, I will give a general overview of what it entails. First, I echo George Ayittey’s voice: Africa is in chaos because it got its socioeconomic and political ideologies wrong.[1] Following this, I also echo the voices of other writers who have made a similar claim. Adding to Ayittey’s recommendations on how Africa can match up in terms of development, I propose a sociopolitical solution that places a premium on spirituality. I make this addition because spirituality is a vital (and biblically related) African identity. And there is no other way to pursue authenticity than to be who we really are, by living out our ontological identity. In the rest of the chapters in this book, I elaborate how African spirituality plays a critical role in African political settings and consequently brings about development. But let us begin with the dilemma of contemporary Africa, and why Africa finds itself in it.

Africa’s Situation Characterised by Chaos

In his book Africa in Chaos,[2] George Ayittey provides a vivid picture of the state of the dilemma in Africa. What he had at the back of his mind as he wrote the book is to examine why Africa has been imploding and remains intractably mired in poverty.[3] He began to lay the foundation for his argument in the book by highlighting the departed souls in Africa, people who lost their lives through assassination while fighting a cause that has to do with their homeland. Therefore, the book is dedicated to the murdered heroes in twenty-three African nations. The content of the book entails a critical analysis of how things have fallen apart in Africa, the chaotic state of its politics, economy, and even education, all of them taking a negative toll on development.

One of the questions that subtly echo as one reads the pages of the book is whether Africa has what it takes in terms of human resources to combat its chaotic state. The answer is yes. Africa has human power, the most important of all assets that can surmount its mountain. However, the challenge is that Africa does not duly appreciate the human power, the creative minds, at its disposal.

In this book, Ayittey portrays Africa as a lost continent. First, because of the way it lags behind its counterparts on the world stage; second, because of the contention between two Africas. African past and present coexist together and clash with each other. There are two Africas that are constantly clashing. The first is traditional or indigenous Africa that historically has been castigated as backward and primitive. . . . The second Africa is the modern one, which is lost. Most of Africa’s problems emanate from its modern sector.[4]

According to Ayittey, Africa is a lost continent, lost from the international scene where all other continents are having their voices heard, having strayed away from its original identity in the battle between traditional and modern Africa. The root cause of the chaos on the continent can be traced to several sources. Some of these sources were of African origin, for instance reckless politics and governance. Others were caused by the contribution and interference of some international entities or agencies such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Ayittey goes on to argue that the social, political, and economic mess is largely borne out of the fact that Africa has lost its originality. Africa took upon itself the ways of life borrowed from outside its jurisdiction, particularly from the West, at the expense of its original identity. In the pre-colonial era, Africa had its system running through a traditional means that was embraced by all the people of the land, and which were functional and efficient. For instance, Africa had always had a democracy that is marked by free participation, accountability, and rule of law.

In Ayittey’s view, Africa had something that it can take pride in. It had a social system that was inferior to none. Meanwhile, its exposure to European life stripped away its natural ways of life and it therefore lost its true colour. African governments keep adopting policies that are shaped by Western philosophies and worldviews, and therefore, have not been effective in their deliveries. Not only do African leaders enforce policies that are not true to African identity, they also follow the evil practices of their colonial masters. Therefore, in Ayittey’s view, African poverty was borne out of the inability to get rid of corrupt and ineffective leadership that does more harm than good, or the inability to peacefully compel their governments to apply appropriate policies.

Ayittey opines that the chaos in Africa would have been resolved if African leaders thought critically about how they put policies in place and how they responded to national matters. He believes that this shortcoming is not only attributed to the African political leaders; even the so-called intellectuals are guilty of the same. He points out that the problem of Africa can simply be attributed to the fact that the responsible stakeholders are not applying commonsense as much as possible; therefore, What modern Africa needs, perhaps more than anything else, is a commonsense revolution.[5]

In his argument, Ayittey notes that all the sociopolitical ideologies employed by African leaders are, in one way or the other, not favourable to the situation of the land. Such ideologies include African socialism, political pragmatism, military nationalism, and Afro-Marxism.[6] By this Ayittey implies that, in their uncritical and careless application of ideologies, African political leaders end up destroying the good in the land. In his analysis, all the causes of poverty in Africa are connected to bad governance.

Ayittey’s closing remarks come as a challenge to the African intellectuals. He gives them ten commandments that indicate their specific role in fixing the wrecked vehicle of the African states. The commandments for the intellectuals are:

1. Never forget your roots.

2. Seek ye first the economic kingdom in the private sector.

3. Privatize the universities.

4. Demand and defend freedom of expression/media.

5. Practice intellectual solidarity.

6. Demand national conferences.

7. Disband the military or cut it in half.

8. Practice pan-Africanism.

9. Set up a rival Organization of African Unity (OAU), now African Union (AU).

10. Selectively repudiate foreign debt.

In his recommendations, Ayittey has done well to challenge Africa to never forget its roots By African roots, he certainly means that Africa should embrace what makes it authentically Africa. While Ayittey passionately calls Africa back to its root in the socioeconomic and political sense, he left out one fundamental factor that characterizes traditional African socioeconomic and political life – spirituality. In chapters 3 and 4, I shall extensively explore how spirituality plays into Yoruba sociopolitical life.

Since this book is written from a Christian theological perspective, my connotation for spirituality underscores the human relationship with God. As much as science, philosophy, and common sense have a relevant place in solving the underdevelopment problem, God must, however, take a prominent place in all African affairs. Hence, as I echo Ayittey’s voice in this section of this book, I do so with the addition that God must be at the centre of a development endeavour. If we go merely by common sense and human philosophy, we may end up being victims of idolatry; since the exclusive application of common sense and human philosophies leads us to employ the means that are contrary to the will of God and his order.[7]

In this section, I have discussed African development and failed political leadership based on an exclusive interaction with Ayittey. In the section that follows, I shall maintain a general discussion on the same theme, with wider scholarly interactions. In the same section, I will also introduce how subsequent chapters build on this theme.

Failed Politics as a Cause of Poverty in Africa

As I interact with Ayittey’s work in the previous section, I indicated that the form of politics practiced in Africa is one that hampers development, because the political ideologies and institutions are not true to the African identity and worldview. It is also important to note that not only is it true that African political systems are not authentic to African context, so also are most national institutions – social, economic, and educational institutions.[8] The majority (if not all) of these institutions are structured according to European patterns.

However, my emphasis in this book is on the inauthenticity of African political systems. George Kinoti, Samuel Kobia, and Jesse Mugambi all agree and argue that the political system of Africa is unfavourable to development, because it is a replica of the Western political system, which does not suit Africa.[9] The obvious effect of this is the problem of underdevelopment, which leaves many people in Africa in situations of abject poverty.

Good political administration enhances the development of a state, whereas a bad one hampers it. Poverty is a political condition. Many people find themselves in a state of poverty not of their own making but because they have little or no control over the material and institutional conditions under which they exist.[10] This is one crucial challenge facing Africa today. Africa is in a political mess and its people consequently living in abject poverty.

Africa is in political crises that result in underdevelopment because of the identity crisis posed by the colonial imposition of nation-state politics. As I shall argue in chapter 5, nation-state politics is a form of Western developmental-political theory. Nation-state politics and other Western developmental-political formulae find no root in African traditional developmental-political thought. These Western formulae have become a way of life that Africa is struggling to live by. In his discussion about the problem of the nation-state in Africa, Kobia uses the words of Basil Davidson to condemn its emergence, noting that, The predicament of Africa is ‘the curse of the nation-state.’ [11] Kobia himself personally argues thus:

We are witnessing a kind of political and economic dispensation that is linked to the Europeanization of Africa and Africanization of European institutions in Africa. We are therefore confronted with the problems of authenticity and legitimacy. The former is indicative of the fact that the historical progression of the nation-state in the continent was not rooted; therefore, it does not reflect the soul of Africa. The issue of legitimacy has to do with the question of consent given that the people of Africa did not give and so do not participate fully in the state. An exercise in ethical discernment is therefore indispensable in confronting the dual dilemma of the so-called disfunctionality and disorderliness of the state in Africa.[12]

The core of Kobia’s argument in his statement above is that institutions in Africa have problems of authenticity and legitimacy.[13] Particularly applying this to the African political institutions, Kobia argues that the political institutions in Africa are operated in ways that are not true to African identity. They are a replica of something real in another (European) political context.

In agreement with Kobia’s claim, Kinoti also opines that the way by which an African government goes about its economic activities is still colonial. He states that, A major reason for Africa’s failure to develop since independence is the failure of untested development policies . . . developed in the West and applied to Africa.[14] Again in this section, I echo the voices of Kobia and Kinoti who hold that Africa’s interaction with the West through colonialism is the undoing of Africa’s modern politics. The problem of modern Africa resides in the ideas, knowledge, and practices that Africa borrowed or inherited from the West. While I will paint more pictures in chapter 4 to illustrate this reality, one picture that comes to mind here is the biblical image of David in Saul’s military attire (1 Sam 17). David was in a war outfit that hampered his free movement as a young soldier of Yahweh.

Presently, Africa is fighting the battle of underdevelopment, but with unsuitable political weaponry. As such, the economic backwardness of the African nations is traced to political decisions and actions that are alien to its people.[15] For Africa’s political system to win the battle against underdevelopment, it must be robed in war attire that is cut to its size and employ the use of ammunition that it is skilful with.

As we shall see in chapter 5, the development theory that underlies nation-state political practices in contemporary Africa has brought about critical deviation in African developmental-political worldview. The development