AFRICAN CULTURE AS A DECOLONIZING TOOL FOR CULTURAL RESISTANCE, EPISTEMIC DELINKING, AND THE RECLAIMING OF AFRICAN AGENCY IN THE ERA OF NEO-COLONIALITY
Abstract
Although most African states gained political independence in the mid-twentieth century, the continent continues to experience subtle and enduring forms of domination through neo-colonial structures. These include economic dependency, Western epistemic control, political interference, media-driven cultural infiltration, and the psychological internalisation of foreign value systems. This study examines African culture as a revitalising tool, a symbolic and practical foundation for resisting neo-colonial domination and restoring African agency. Focusing primarily on Nigeria as a representative context, the article argues that African cultural systems remain powerful resources for moral formation, identity construction, social cohesion, and sustainable development. The research adopts a qualitative research design, drawing on semi-structured interviews with cultural scholars, traditional leaders, and educators, alongside documentary analysis of key theoretical and policy texts. Findings indicate that African culture, expressed through indigenous languages, communal philosophies, oral traditions, festivals, spiritual worldviews, and traditional governance systems, functions as a living epistemology that counters neo-colonial influence. However, the study also finds that Western-oriented education, governance models, and global media continue to marginalise indigenous knowledge systems, producing identity crises, cultural alienation, and moral disorientation—particularly among African youth. Theoretically, the article is anchored on Aníbal Quijano’s concept of the Coloniality of Power, which explains how colonial hierarchies persist beyond formal colonialism through cultural and epistemic dominance. The study concludes that revitalising African culture is not merely a nostalgic return to the past but an act of epistemic delinking and cultural self-reclamation. It recommends integrating indigenous languages and African philosophies into formal education, increasing institutional support for cultural industries and heritage preservation, and the strategic use of digital technologies to document and disseminate African cultural knowledge. Ultimately, the article affirms that African culture is not a relic but a dynamic civilizational infrastructure necessary for resisting neo-colonialism and achieving authentic, self-determined development.