Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Professor Lawrence Boakye has affirmed that religion in Africa has made an immense impact in the democracy of the African continent.
Speaking at the Founders’ Day Lecture as part of a lecture series held at the Danquah Institute, he noted that religion brought Africans to a level of self-determination which marked the beginning of an awakening to pursue their own ambitions. “They wanted to find God from their own point of view and that is why it became a very important factor in this moment of self-determination. You realize that the Mozama Disco Christo and all these churches broke out and started to pursue on their own terms.”
He hinted that the missionary churches that came to Africa during the colonial era equipped Africans with the needed skills to seek their purposes in life through regulations and laws that had to be observed regarding religion. “Religion made this possible; the missionary churches did this by training the African and it turned out that they became so intelligent and they begun to seek their own purpose in life and found ways to detach themselves.”
The professor acknowledged that Africans after successfully detaching themselves gave themselves a voice of their own in decision making. He however relayed that religion in present day Africa has changed over the years but nevertheless remains one of the key factors behind a successful liberation of the African people. “Independence was done through a joint effort of other industries, adding on to the effects of religion on Africans.”
According to the academician, the liberation of the African continent paved way for democracy in Africa and attested to the positive effects of democracy gradually showing up in diverse ways all across Africa.
Professor Boakye hereby urged all citizens to join in the pursuit for democracy by widening their knowledge of on self-determination. “I believe that we can get there but it takes time; all that we need to do is to do our little bits, all of us in one way or the other gradually; let’s get back to self determination, what it means, let’s teach to our children, let’s talk about it in schools, let’s begin to engage each other because the knowledge and understanding of who we are is the first step to liberation.”
He mentioned that democracy can only be built on the efforts of the people. He noted that this must be done through unwavering determination towards the move which will yield gradually by the aid of social institutions and political stability . “With determination,strength and the ability of understanding what democracy is all about gradually, with political stability and social institutions in place, one day Africa will also rise up and we will see the bright light.”
The Founders’ Day Lecture took a look into African Nationalism, and set the pace for a study on African Nationalism which delved deeper into the birth of patriotism and the attainment of self-determination in the African continent.
By: Kobina Baidoo