On what principles is HUMANITAS established?

Since Africans in the West have been dominated for nearly three centuries of abstract terms such as love, heaven, hell, justice, truth, goodness, evil, the aim of HUMANITAS is to discuss these terms in the light of the history and culture of African peoples. The analysis of abstract terms should  be linked to concrete issues regarding  us as individuals and how we relate to our families and our community.  What should be our roles, attitude, and behavior and should these be modeled on a particular person or particular time in history or do we have to take into account our own place in history and our historical struggle during different epochs of our development?  


In the light of the above considerations, we aim to establish a body of ethics regarding individuals, family and community which we think have evolved from our history and culture and which should leave room for further growth and development. We will look at our  humiliating, demoralizing, dehumanizing conditions and offer rationalistic and humanistic solutions instead of mere wishful thinking and prayer. To think rationally and humanistically mean that we have to work hard at goals which we set for ourselves.  It means that we do not believe that there is some force which will miraculously help us to attain our wishes and desires.  What we need is careful planning, discipline, intellectual curiosity and inspiration from our sages and martyrs. We have to stop despising our ancestors and ourselves as we were taught to do.


HUMANITAS will therefore study our intellectual and cultural heritage in the light of current events to rediscover ourselves.  We are not in the process of romanticizing Africa or our history.  But we cannot continue to believe as we were taught that Africa is all evil and   all children of the devil.  Nowadays there is even a subtler form of cultural imperialism which is to point out the weaknesses of African society while minimizing the role that colonization and racism have played and are playing in Africa.  Some of us only wish to identify with places that are deemed important in Western eyes while others are looking for wealth and perfection. The proponents of  these ideas suggest that we need to build from where we are and what we have and therefore we should discard and abandon everything that comes out of Africa. In opposition to this view we claim that our past is rich with wisdom, inspiration on which we can build a more glorious future-one based on community, reciprocity and the ardent pursuit of human flourishing.