Thursday, March 3, 2016

7:57 PM

Impact of Globalization on African Cultures
By: Abdoulie Sawo

Many scholars, opinion leaders and political analysts have expressed divergent and dissenting views on globalization. It could be seen as a process of an increase in interaction among the world’s countries and peoples facilitated by progressive technological changes, political and military power, knowledge and skills, as well as interfacing of Cultural values, systems and practices. It encourages interaction among nations by breaking down barriers in the areas of culture, commerce, communication and several other fields. Simply, it is a term used to describe the changes in societies and the world economy that result from dramatically increased international trade and cultural exchange.
The history of globalization in Africa could be linked to slave trade, the scramble and partitioning of Africa and the structural adjustment programmes (SAPs) in 1984. This was when Africa was numbered into different states by European power: Britain, France, Italy among others. While demarcating the continent-the map-they took little or no account of the numerous traditional African societies that existed on the ground. Consequently, it cut through hundreds of cultural groups which enclosed hundreds of diverse and independent groups with no common history, culture, language, or religion. The era of slave trade, colonialism and the SAPs of 1980s led to the relative stagnation and decline of traditional cultural pursuits in Africa. African ways of doing things became primitive, archaic and regrettably unacceptable in public domain. These distorted and retarded the pace and tempo of cultural growth and trend of civilization in Africa.  
Africa is the world’s second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. It is bigger than US, India and China and most of Europe combined. Africa is endowed with immense natural and human resources, as well as great cultural, ecological and economic diversity. In terms of natural resources, Africa is the world’s richest continent. These are what western media silenced about Africa.
There is no single culture that can be selected and defined as an African culture. Africa consists of various and numerous different cultures within the same country and beyond. Culture can be conceived as the way of life of the members of a society, the collection of ideas and habits which they learn, share and transmit from generation to generation. The globalization trend has eaten so deep into African cultures and tradition vehicles serious threat to the survival of various Africa’s rich and diverse culture and people heritage. Globalization could be blame for the extinction and dilution of African cultures, entrenching of poverty –widening the gap between the rich and the poor.
The Impact of Globalization on African cultures has both positive and negative impacts. Positively, it opens people’s lives to other cultures which allow the flow of ideas and values. It eases communication- global village- among countries and peoples. Negatively, it has diluted several African cultures. As a result of the cultural domination from outside, several languages and cultural practices are rapidly losing their taste.  

In conclusion one can state that globalization, as a double-edged sword, has impacted both positively and negatively on the African cultures. However, the later carries more weight. 

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