The Crisis of Identity and the Quest for Development in Africa: The Place of Leadership in Creating a New Culture

Abstract

This work traces the part played by the leaders of societies, acting on the basis of certain philosophical justifications, to occasion the cultural crisis in Africa. It then shows how the activities of certain other leaders, using Japan and the U.S.A as cases in point, have worked to resolve the crisis of culture in their societies. It then argues that the African leaders are wasting a lot of time talking while their different societies are about to explode The paper sketches certain theories that already exist which the African leaders could appropriate in order to move their societies forward. It argues that just as science is a universal culture, our leaders should not wait for only solutions proffered by Africans before they can accept them. The paper argues that the prevalence of political and moral decay within African societies requires that new cultures be created by exemplary and purposeful leadership.