Conversations: Does Africa have its own science?

The focus is no longer, whether Africa has a science but how can we recapture and build on the incredible legacy left by our forebears. But we have to know what that legacy is.

“THE rest of the world has long believed that Africa can’t produce its own scientific inventions. This myth can be traced back to the time of slavery and colonialism – systems that led even Africans themselves to think that nothing good could come from the continent.” (Stewart Maganga, 2016)

There are issues we must bring to the front burner again not because they are forgotten but because other matters of survival occlude them. Issues such as Africa’s contribution to the world of knowledge creation and consumption. Let us take traditional medicine and therapy in contrast to modern (western medicine) as an instance. These two appear not to be in tune with the economic status of the majority in rural and urban setting.

Furthermore, there is the proposition that Allopathy, which tends to focus on Humankind as if it were parts that can only be studied and corrected when it malfunctions, raises the question of holistic healing as an alternative.  Can this type of practice be the future of healing in a declining and fast globalising market, where the disposable income of individuals is on the decline? New diseases hitherto unheard of are also on the increase.

The idea is that the more we raise these issues the more we bring the “hidden” possibilities, products and procedure to the open — similar to what was done with the Chinese system of acupressure and acupuncture.  The search for us as a people should be to find out recent innovations or new explanations for longstanding practices like traditional medicine. The objective will be to appeal to non-western audiences or raise their curiosity for research in a highly unexplored terrain. 

What exists within the age-long practice that can add to, or change the cause of global knowledge as it relates to healing and well-being in health, must be constantly discussed and repackaged for local and international consumption. 

Africa’s position in the tropics, where the forests are endowed with exotic plants and animal species that are yet to be explored and exploited for healing and prevention of ailments puts us in a vantage position.

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TO deliberate on issues such as Ifa and the nature of Africa’s science, we had a conversation with Yomi Layinka, an all-round cultural enthusiast who maybe urban based but has his feet buried in the knowledge of our forebears.

Kole: How will you characterise Ifa as a belief system?

Layinka: Ifa as a knowledge system does qualify for a scientific system just as it does for a philosophical and literary tradition. Cheikh Diop is perhaps the most rigorous proponent of African science.

Ifa does not carry out experiments, as we know it today

Diop was using ideas and original thinking

How do we explain why we put eedu (charcoal) in beans we grind? No one has carried out a research

Is that the definitive character of science?

The question then is what is science? Someone says, “Science is eternal interrogation and investigation without ultimate certainty”.

Someone else says; knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through scientific method.

You see the operative word is TESTED. How do we in Africa test our claims?

I actually agree with the suggestion of its infinitude.

Should we? must we?

I guess we test through trial, experience and consequent deductions.

…but hardly document… all trials and results are embedded in practice

Depending on the field of enquiry

I guess fields such as

(1). Food processing

(2). Medicine

(3) Clothing

(4) Agriculture

(5). Water resources

Well, there we go…without documentation there’s no knowledge? Or scientific proof?

“The documentation allows for comparison of results and elimination of flukes”

True. But that must take cognition of the largely oral tradition that predominated. Now, we can go on to satisfy Western notions and canons by using their tools for testing and empirical validations.

This is the conclusion of the forthcoming conversation, unfortunately one  big man I reached out to said “Listen, my friend, If you agree to the first proposition, the second does not arise. Kindly keep me out of this sterile debate. “

Meaning? What’s the first proposition?

This was his first proposition “In my view science is simply science.”

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This was what I think really upset him

“I agree with you sir but how come some of our systematic organisation does not feature on the global scientific agenda

If science is science sir, do we carry out experiments in the Western way?

How come our approach to medicine is not codified and made available to the generality of the people. The definition by Sam Bajah speaks to what I think our science in Africa is different

Sam Bajah (1980, p. 6) defines African science as a “systematic, complex and exclusive traditional process (commonly noticed in a number of African cultures), in which an attempt is made to describe, understand, predict and control nature.” Bajah (1980, p. 25) asks …is there such a thing as African science? “To answer that I would like to begin by attesting to the fact that unequivocally, there is a science in Africa; activities and nature which call for understanding and explanations occur in Africa just as in other parts of the world…we also have traditional thinkers in Africa who also through their years of training attempt to unfold the truth in nature.”

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Layinka: But that’s true in essence. He doesn’t think so?

Kole: He was just upset and foreclosed any dialogue. I can understand how touchy Africanists get when something hints at Africa’s absence at the intellectual table

Well, even I can get squeamish sometime.

You came to a very good conclusion. NOTHING can beat this

“Now, we can go on to satisfy Western notions and canons by using their tools for testing and empirical validations.”

The only question is SHOULD We? or asked differently MUST we

I think the issue is not so much our absence but the dominance of other people’s cultural agendas and privileged menus at the table.

We appear happy to buy other people’s refined applied scientific findings. When will we re-package ours for sale?

Now, that’s exactly what Fela Anikulapo-Kuti did by refusing to kow tow to the western menu/format of music ‘performed in brief’. Rather he insisted that African music is not a commercial construct but a cultural framework of engagement. Now, they are coming back to him….

Similarly, Wande Abimbola insisted that Africa possesses and must be allowed to express its own paradigms of spirituality without having to operate within other peoples’ received traditions.

Prof Akiwowo also demonstrated that by invoking a Yoruba paradigmatic framework in explaining sociological phenomena.

Cultural expressions may be a little different from ways of doing things…If we could do that in music and belief systems why not in areas like herbal medicine like the Chinese have done. For instance, I ordered for a large supply of Orin Ata (chewing sticks) to help a Sickle Cell patient beat the painful crises he undergoes…

…I am saying that it is possible, has been demonstrated by the examples above; not forgetting Adeoye Lambo in Psychiatry and Sanya Onabamiro in Biology.

We can do more. Lambo was in the 70s; Onabamirod, the virus he discovered was in the 70s too

What happened to us since then? If Nollywood were an experiment in visual technology, we would include it too. But it a spin off from another culture’s technological development

You are saying we haven’t followed through in those pioneering Africanist scientific exemplars? I agree! What happened? That is the question.

I like the conversation. I know what happened though; Others supplied us results of their own Research & Development (R&D) for next to nothing and we saw no reason to follow through on ours

The pervasive nihilistic anti-intellectual culture that enveloped Africa on account of military interventions is one place to search for answers. The attendant privileging… Of political relationships and ‘nepotic’ associations of Africa intellectuals with centers and holders of power.

To effectively rule a people you must DE-motivate them and at the same time make sure they are very well entertained. Colonialism introduced us to free lunch; free mobile cinema, free salvation, free mis-education ..all for free rides

Summary: wahala dey. Work plenty!

You have just done half of the work, bros

It is not as plenty. You have made succinct observations and your recommendations are on the way.

Emi ke. I no know Book o.

You do not HAVE to do anything your self

That’s for you the serious people; eyin acada😜

You have played your part in raising awareness leave the ‘doing’ generation to run with it or deny it. Not even ‘me’ will carry a burden on my mind that nothing is done eventually.  I am here to point attention and agitate minds… hopefully not aggravate

You certainly are doing the agitation.

Pity I have no capacity to do more oo but I will raise issues that touch me as an immigrant

…and you’re right …”Every generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it or betray it”… Franz Fanon.

I tried to be smart by paraphrasing Fanon ni oo

Always ahead… o se baba mi.

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The dialogue between Yomi Layinka and myself did not end there; I took it to the ‘mythical’ street to seek feedback from other Nigerians. I also looked into old reports to dig out what others are saying.

Dr. Amon Saba Saakana of Kamak House says, “I suppose we can characterize this as a beginning stage as it relies on Western methods of inquiry, for example, logic, which is not knowledge but conjecture.

The focus is no longer, whether Africa has a science but how can we recapture and build on the incredible legacy left by our forebears. But we have to know what that legacy is. The brother started correctly by stating his predictive destiny by the diviner. There was no further exploration, once he came of age, of what methods the diviner uses to arrive at such accuracy. That is one aspect of the science that should have been explored. Of course, he would not be told until he himself was initiated. That is the basis of African traditions of knowledge: initiation, developing iwapele, obedience to one’s professors before gaining access to higher knowledge. This higher knowledge is kept secret even in the face of the society being trampled and overridden. The Pale Fox by Marcel Griaule is an introduction to the methods of this knowledge system.”

In the words of Adewale Anigilaje, a Pharmacist, “I agreed that a society would not just exist without a means (their own methodology) of enquiries into the unknown or to know more about phenomenon/occurrences both within and outside their domain. There are methods used in Herbal medicines to discover remedies for ailments as well. For instance, when traditional hunters shoot at an Antelope and the animal did not die on the spot but ran away, they noticed such antelope often eat some kind of herbals. They assume such herbs are for healing of wounds and such herbs/shrubs has been tired and found to be effective in wound healing in Humans. Details of this and others can be found in Prof Abayomi Sofoworas text of African traditional medicines. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of tangible products to showcase in our recent years resulting from African Science and its methodology.

I do hope experts could join forces with Nigerian Scientists to translate some O’Level science Text into easy read Yoruba Language. It would help a great understanding and perhaps practical science in Nigeria.”

Stewart Maganga contributes to the conversation. “Although most African governments have come to recognise that the only way forward is through homegrown science and technology, many universities aren’t keeping pace. Research suggests that more and more African graduates want to work for themselves and are committed to changing their societies. This also suggests that many are innovators at heart. Neither their schools nor their universities appear to be equipping them for life as inventors or self-starters.”

A look into our archival materials allows us re-echo the words of Professor David Okpako, who once explained the fundamental difference between traditional African herbal healing and therapy and the western perspective of medicaments.  He said, one, is based on management of ailment and not diseases by ensuring that the body can heal or rid its self of any germs or pathogens.  Whereas, the other western medicine is based on, what he called selective poisoning.  By this, he meant drugs that are poisons meant to destroy germ or pathogens with minimal side effects.  He further stated that Traditional healing practice consists of two closely inter-related parts;

a}. appreciation of the cause(s) of illness beyond physiology but located within the mind, the soul and the socio-cultural influences;

b}. use of plant remedies and animal parts where necessary.

It is necessary to understand how the concept of traditional medicine evolved, and still evolving.  He lamented the unfortunate aspersion and misconception of traditional medicine as primitive because the practice does not fit into the cast of biomedicines.  The plant remedies prepared by the healers is NOT the same thing as modern drugs, which contain active agents alone.  It is wrong to subject the preparations to pharmaceutical principles because the formulations do not belong there.

As to diagnosis he said it is difficult for any medical practitioner to tell from mere physical examination; some of these diseases require the assistance of advanced technology for correct diagnosis.  However, in traditional medicine practice, the healers recognize illness and they do not treat diseases.  There are two schools of thought, which must be highlighted.

a]. Distal causes – the thing that created the diseases in the individual

b]. Proximal cause.  He said distal cause[s] of an illness cannot be treated with poisons. He later went on to address the differences in dosages.

Dosages and Dosage forms: — In addressing the issue, he differentiated dosages from dosage forms and went on to state that in some African cultures there are no absolute units of measure.

In addition, he emphasized that there are points of convergence in both orthodox and traditional practices, in that they both intend the health and well-being of the individuals.  The system of traditional medicine as a whole should be taken seriously. He then suggested that the philosophy of traditional medicine should be the core concern in our planning and strategies. Apart from Professor Okpako’s contributions, Mr. Lang, contributed to the conversation, which held in his office many years ago, that in searching for alternatives, systems that consider the human body as a whole and which establishes the harmony between nature and the body, must be given prominence.  In this regard, he suggested that the body can help itself and that the healing process need not be empirical, there could be certain spiritual dimensions to the process.

Conclusion

THE continent sure has its own form of science and this can be the basis of re-education for different generations. Do we need to raise the question of what science is for post-colonial nation states that have definitions and formulations thrust upon them?

The picture soon changes when one encounters the work of Historians of science like Professor Gloria T. Emeagwali. She states, “The applied sciences of agronomy, metallurgy, engineering and textile production, as well as medicine, dominated the field of activity across Africa.”

Furthermore, she concludes, “[o]ur word “chemistry” derives from “al-kemi.” The ancient Egyptians had applied this term meaning “the black land” to themselves. We should note, however, that some contemporary scholars interpret “kemit” to refer to the dark richness of the Egyptian soil, while others suggest that the term “black” refers in this instance to the skin pigmentation of these ancient peoples. In various parts of Africa, chemical principles were applied— especially in the leather tanning and cloth dyeing sectors. Indigenous distillation systems emerged in the process of the brewing of beer and other fermented beverages in various regions of Africa.”