By: Adeshina Ibrahim
The presence of COVID-19 blows wind of fear that lives in every part of us with little or no chance for political, social and economic excellence. All over the world, attempts are being made to discover the cure for COVID-19 and this varies from different types of scientific research and knowledge. It is a common knowledge that mankind usually occupy his mind with the thoughts of developing the universe and unravel realities that would contribute wellness.
Obviously, this can be done through application of certain knowledge. In the process of applying knowledge, it is expected that the actor or the doer gives room for sources of knowledge. In the ancient times, it is a popular belief that scholars engage each other on some certain issues, one of the most common method is debate. In our contemporary, it seems reverse is the case.
A particular group of people have decided to limit all knowledge within their territory. They believe they are the most rational sets of people on earth, it is quite unfortunate that the torch of their knowledge has been snatched by a virus. In everything we do, it is always advisable to carry everyone along, that is, making sure everyone participate in an engagement that would bring progress, solutions and success to humanity. This attempt would give wellness and developments to mankind.
First of all, it is important to note that no one is an island of knowledge, the human race is interconnected to each other, no one is absolutely right or wrong, and we need to restore our differences with meaningful and critical thoughts. The contemporary world is congested to the west, that is, the European countries have taken over the intellectual realm: we breathe and live with their philosophies, religions, ideologies and so on. This act has denigrated and put barriers to alternative modes of knowing in other parts of world, a typical example is my home AFRICA.
It is a common knowledge that Africa was colonized, and the Europeans exploited Africans in all ramifications and subjugated Africa political and social spirits. At this point, it is important to hail and recognize the doggedness, bravery and tenacities of Ethiopia, the only African country or state that escaped the shackles of colonialism. It is a popular belief that Asia has been strategically side lined, to me, they were and still the only competent sets of people that resisted European power.
Note, the introduction of history is to give conceptual insights about this thought. With the current health situation, it is obvious that the west intellectual prowess is weak, the world power, U.S.A, and her frail colleagues like UK, Italy, Spain have recorded thousands of corona virus cases with thousands of deaths. This is highly pitiable, only the heartless would ignore the emotional effects of COVID-19. The advents of Biology, Chemistry and other medical knowledge have no useful weapon to combat this deadly virus, well with time, efforts and God’s grace, cure would be discovered.
I believe the Europeans have forgotten the importance collectiveness and unity of man power, resources, knowledge and other meaningful outputs. The European threw missiles of doubts and ignorance on African heritages, cultures and intellect, they present Africans as less critical humans, they brought the ill belief that African is endowed and nourished in dogmatism. They gave us an identity we did not even know about, they call us (Africans) the dark people. My fellow brothers like the Nupes, Zulus, Yorubas, Igbos, Ashantes and others do not know the origin of the word AFRICA, then why should we accept a word we do not know about.
It is very easy to define Africa and attach history to it, because most dictionaries and histories were written by the Europeans. Sometime in the 19th century, the postcolonial time, some group of Africans came up and claimed that the true identity of Africans lies in proverbs, myths, folklores, incantations and other sources of oral tradition. J.S Mbiti brought gave a proper outlook of what Africa and African philosophy looks like, according to him, African philosophy is the understanding, attitude of mind, logic and perception behind the manners in which Africans think, act or speak in different situations of life. With this definition, it becomes glaring that Africans have Philosophy, ways of doing things, tackle health issues, how they understand and translates realities around them.
The current situation globally demands all sources of knowledge, this would cut across the 7 continents. There is the need to sharpen our epistemological consciousness, no knowledge should be underestimated or ignored. This is a period when countries of the world need to broaden their knowledge about medicine, there is no need to center medical and technological strength in one part of the world. Over the years, Africans have a unique way of curing all sorts of diseases or illness, this is usually done with various and mixtures of herbs. I believe this is an opportunity for Africans and other races of the world to make adequate research on their Herbs and other medicinal products.
It is worthy of note that this period is challenging, it calls for immediate and serious intervention. This can be done by making proper research on traditional modes of knowing, medicine and traditional practices. Perhaps, this period is pointing out the importance of raw herbs over processed chemicals, I believe Africans and other continent need to make research on their endowed gifts of nature, extract the benefits and use them to save the world. This is a time to be indigenous about innovations, creativities and inventions, the Whites have failed and disappointed us already. The goal of survival must be preserved and cherished, with life there is HOPE.
