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Introduction
The place of adequate definition on any subject of 

discussion cannot be overemphasized. A proper definition of 
an idea is a true path way to better understanding and 
appreciation of its components, from the main topic to the 
minutest parts. Hence, a good definition of an academic 
subject tele-guides those who have interest in the subject to 
know what the subject holds, its concerns and what 
distinguishes it from other related subjects. A definition that 
involves all these concerns will help participants in the 
discussion at stake to avoid misconceptions and misgivings in 
one sense and overcome ambiguities and equivocations in 
another sense.

As a matter of fact, a justified definition is necessary for 
African philosophy to determine its scope, to illustrate its 
characteristics, to identify its concerns and inherent 
problems. This attempt will make anybody in an academic 
environment to have a clearer picture of what is African 
philosophy. There is no doubt that countless definitions of 

AN APPRAISAL OF 

THE CHALLENGES CONFRONTING 

THE NATURE OF 

AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY

Williams O. ASO



African philosophy may come up as a result of diverse 
impulses from the background, the school, the culture and 
appreciated methodology of each philosopher. However, a 
notable parameter is necessary to judge if a particular 
definition of African philosophy is credible and acceptable. 
What count most in the definition of African philosophy is not 
as important as the relationship that such definition must have 
with African worldview. Therefore, any definition of African 
philosophy that reflects on African perspective either by an 
African or non-African is relevant for the understanding of 
African philosophy. 

This paper tends to survey why African philosophy is 
facing challenges of recognition and acceptance in academic 
arena unlike European, Arabic and Chinese philosophies. The 
write up demonstrates some problems involved in an attempt 
by some scholars to provide a definition of African 
philosophy. A good number of identified problems in the 
definition of African philosophy clearly show some 
misconceptions and misrepresentations of African socio-
cultural experience. For instance, some of the definitions 
provided by some philosophers illustrate different 
approaches that limit the scope and relevance of African 
philosophy as evident in this paper.  By and large, the paper 
highlights the criteria for the definition of African philosophy 
that is more standard and attracts barest minimum of 
criticism. It is pertinent to note also that this paper identifies, 
emphasizes and recommends the necessary features that can 
make the identity and contents of African philosophy less 
doubtful and more intellectual. 

The work depends strongly on the articles that G. E. 
Azenabor articulated in his book, Understanding The 
Problems of African Philosophy, published in 2002, to 
demonstrate the challenges that limit the growth and 
development of African philosophy and the way forward. 
Nevertheless, the works of other relevant scholars on African 
philosophy are examined to give more credence to this paper. 
As a matter of fact, evaluation and the recommendation for 
the way forward conclude the write up.

The necessity for a definition of African philosophy
Any standard definition of philosophy is expected to 

139



focus on the love of wisdom, the desire and quest to know 
what, why and how of all the realities in human experience, 
both physical and metaphysical. But definition of African 
philosophy will give a leeway to the contents, the frontiers 
and the relationship of its contents to the experience of 
Africans and their society. An acceptable definition of 
African philosophy will show that their quest for knowledge 
is closely connected to every aspect of their existential 
realities: God and the gods, the land, the community and the 
ancestral world. The awareness of these peculiarities will put 
any scholar in a better position to understand the 
characteristics of African philosophy and the reason behind 
each of them. This implies that a typical definition of African 
philosophy ought to be an emblematic expression of what 
African philosophy is all about. The moment a scholar grasps 
the meaning and definition of African philosophy he can 
easily make connection with its contents and relevance to the 
African society. In other words, a good definition of African 
philosophy becomes a key for scholars to get access to its 
concerns and essential problems. African philosophy will 
never get acceptance in academic world if its definition and 
meaning of its terms are shrouded in oral tradition and 
ethnography.
 
Why the definition of African philosophy is difficult

In spite of the need to get a credible definition of African 
philosophy, there is no universal definition that covers all its 
characteristics. Scholars pitched their tents in different camps 
to give a definition of African philosophy according to the 
world-view of their background and eager to criticise 

1different definitions coming from the other camps.  This 
insurmountable disposition renders any definition of African 
philosophy subjective. In spite of this, no definition of 
African philosophy is totally alienated from the issues 
associated with the philosophy. As we have it below, C.S. 
Momoh identified some factors behind the diverse definitions 
of African philosophy. It is pertinent to examine these factors 
to judge how relevant they are in the definition of African 
philosophy.
 

140



Geographical location
 Africa is the only continent where you have the largest 
number of black people living together with some whites and 
Arabs especially in the northern part of Africa. They all have 
similar culture, history, tradition, colonial experience but 

2have diverse cultures and languages.  The attempt to get an 
acceptable definition of African philosophy leads to the 
challenge of determining the source of a credible definition of 
African philosophy. All scholars of African philosophy are 
not limited to African continent, some non-Africans are found 
in Europe like Placide Temples and in the United States of 
America like Barry Hallen. Besides, there are African 
scholars in diaspora like William Amo in Germany, Anthony 
Appiah in Canada, Molefi Asante in the US, Geoffrey Onah in 

3
Italy and a host of others in other parts of the world.  Again, 
we cannot fail to acknowledge the African scholars in places 
like Brazil and Caribbean Islands as part of African 
community. As noted by J. I. Ebeh, geographical location can 
easily affect one's perception of certain realities of life. For 
instance, apart from basic relevance of water to man, the 
perception of water and its relationship with those living in 
riverine areas of Africa tend to be different from those located 
in the tropical and the savannah regions of Africa. The world 
and life experience of those in the riverine areas revolves 

 
around water while those that populatetropical region centres 
on forest and in the savannah is incomplete without reference 
to drought and dryness. Hence, the geographical location of 
African philosophers influences them to have diverse 
definitions of African philosophy.

The definition of African philosophy traceable to any of 
the scholars outside the confined of Africa are sometimes 
viewed as less important to the ones given by the scholars 
within the continent. This claim sounds absurd because 
geographical location of a scholar does not count as much as 
the content of his definition of African philosophy. As Moses 
Oke rightly posits, “it is by the content of a philosopher's 
work, and not by either his/her nationality or domicile, that an 
African is to be identified. In this connection, Barry Hallen is 
a good example of a non-African (an American national) 
African philosopher. On the other hand, though he is an 
African and a philosopher, J. T. Bedu-Ado (an Akan 

141



142

colleague of Wiredu) does not qualify to be called a 
4substantive African philosopher.”  One can easily deduce 

from this position of Oke that the primary concern in the 
definition of African philosophy is the identity of African 
philosophy while the background, tradition, language and the 
name of the philosopher that identified the identity is 
insignificant. 

Influence of cultural background
 There is no doubt that every man is a product of his 
culture and environment. The culture determines the values 
appreciated, the frontiers of belief and accumulated 
knowledge. No man can be easily alienated from the 
influence of his cultural milieu; he speaks, thinks and writes 

5
through his culture and vice versa.  As Momoh succinctly 
asserts, “a philosopher, like any other professional or 
individual, is a child of his culture and a culture often 
influences a philosopher's definition and perception of his 

6
subject-matter.”  In addition to this claim of Momoh, Lucius 
Outlaw believes that appreciated African philosophical ideas 
and ideals are associated with particular African 

 communities.  As he maintains, “philosophizing is inherently 
grounded in socially shared practices, not in transcendental 
rules. When we view philosophical practices historically, 
sociologically, and comparatively, we are led inescapably to 
conclude that 'philosophical practice is inherently pluralistic', 
and philosophical ideals are local to communities of 

7
thinkers.”  If this is indisputable, one cannot be surprised if 
cultural influence makes many scholars of African 
philosophy to generate diverse definitions of African 
philosophy. 

There is no need for people of different cultures to 
condemn the definition of African philosophy that are not 
based on their cultural roots. This is one of the reason why 
African philosophy seems to be stagnant and difficult to 
grow. It is obvious that we do not have one language and 
culture in Africa which is part of African uniqueness. This 
reality makes it difficult for African philosophy to have a 
universal definition. Therefore, it is reasonable to accept any 
definition of African philosophy that captures the common 
African world-view and appreciates realities no matter the 
cultural background of the definition. After all, an attempt to 



accept the cultural in-put of diverse peoples in Africa will 
enriched African philosophy and make it holistic.
 
Influence from the school of thought
 As the cultural background often manifests and 
determines the perspective of any scholars on academic issue, 
the school of thought that an African philosopher belongs also 
influences his reasoning disposition on African philosophy. 
This implies that an African philosopher is a representative of 
the school of philosophy that nurtured him to maturity. As a 
matter of fact, he is expected to think and write according to 
the principles and values appreciated and projected by his 
school. Basically, there are some prominent philosophical 
schools of thought that contemplate on the subject matters of 
philosophy like metaphysics, epistemology, logic and ethics. 
We have philosophers that belongs to analytic school, some 
are trained in speculative school and there are others notable 
for logical positivism and practical philosophy. It is 
understandable if the school background of each philosopher 
tends to influence the way he defines African philosophy. 
Hence, it should not be a surprise to see that we have many 
subjective definitions of African philosophy. 

Personal ambition of scholars
It is apparent that every philosopher has an inner force 

that determines his philosophical orientation. It could be a 
disposition towards innovation and transformation of 
existential realities in his society or the desire to protect and 
promote the status quo. The passion involved often consumes 
each scholar that he invests his rational ability and available 
material resources to fulfil his goal. Hence, he often has 
sleepless nights to write articles, books and preparing for 
academic seminars where he can define, defend and expatiate 
on his personal opinion on fundamental issues that form the 
subject matter of philosophy. For instance, in the process of 
defining and promoting his views and understanding of 
African philosophy, he can come up with personal definition 
of African philosophy. In most cases, such definition of 
African philosophy is traceable to the perspective and school 
of philosophy that fostered the scholar. In other words, no 
personal ambition of a philosopher that has no affinity to a 

143



particular way of doing philosophy. Therefore, every 
philosopher with his cherished ideas and world-view is a 
product of his school of thought.
 
Influence of the era

There is a common saying that idea rule the world and 
ideas that dictate how existential realities in the world affect 
man are not static. They change from time to time and man 
and his environment cannot resist this fundamental 
transformation. The periodic changes in human 
consciousness about dominant issues in the world also affect 

8
the disposition and the subject of concern for philosophers.  
The history of philosophy is characterised with different 
philosophical concerns of philosophers like the periods of 
idealistic and rationalistic philosophy, the scientific and the 
humanistic philosophy, the ideological and the feminist 

9philosophy.  All these diverse era and changes in the 
understanding of philosophy determines different 
interpretations and meanings of African philosophy. The 
constant change in the existential experience of man also 
makes it difficult for African philosophy to have a definition 
that covers all time and season. As D. A. Masolo asserts, 
“philosophy is invariably tied to social reality…The mode of 
doing philosophy, e.g. its methods, dominant issues, 

10
questions, and schools of thought vary as society changes.”  
As social change and transformation is indispensable, 
African philosophy cannot have a dogmatic definition. And 
as Joseph Omoregbe would say, the way traditional African 
philosophy of the past can be defined is quite different from 
the meaning and definition of the contemporary African 
philosophy.
 
Religious background

As cultural and scholarship backgrounds exercise 
dominance in the writing and thinking of any scholar, religion 
also has indispensable influence over a scholar that is rooted 
in a particular religion. Although, C. Momoh paid less 
attention to this type of influence in the definition of African 
philosophy but I think it deserves our consideration. It is 
observable that religious education often imparts some basic 
values and principles that characterised a particular religion. 

144



A scholar that is exposed and educated with the values and 
principles cherished by a religious group cannot avoid its 
sway in his writings and approach to philosophical issues. In 
Africa context, there are many scholars like Placide Temples, 
Pauline Hountondji, Peter Bodunrin, Moses Makinde, C. B. 
Okolo, Pantaleon Iroegbu, Francis Ogunmodede and similar 
others that have Christian background. It would not be a 
surprise if any of them give a definition of African philosophy 
that has relationship to the religious context in which they 
live, think and write. However, the likes of C. Momoh of 
Islamic religious setting and J. S. Mbiti of traditional 
religious milieu may not be totally at home with the definition 
of African philosophy that gives attention to Christian dogma 
and general worldview. The reality of diverse religious 
beliefs and appreciated values makes the possibility of 
getting a universal definition of African philosophy always 
difficult if not an impossible task. At this point, it is relevant to 
examine some definitions of African philosophy from notable 
philosophers that recognised African philosophy. 
 
Some notable definitions of African philosophy 

It is necessary to have a cursory look at some of the 
definitions of African philosophy provided by those that 
believe there is an African perspective of philosophy. The 
examination of these definitions will give credence to the fact 
that we can have as many definitions of African philosophy as 
the number of interested scholars. Any dogmatic definition of 
African philosophy has the potential to cause controversy 
among philosophers in the past and even more provocative 
today. Every interested philosopher will like to give a 
definition of African philosophy that is supported with the 
values and worldview that characterised his socio-cultural 
background. At the end, one would see what ought to be the 
criteria for giving a definition of African philosophy that may 
attract negligible degree of criticism. It would be an utopia for 
anyone to think he can provide a definition of African 
philosophy that all scholars of various contextual roots will 
accept without any modification.

In the opinion of J. S. Mbiti, an African philosopher of 
religion, African philosophy “is the understanding, attitude of 
mind, logic, and perception behind the manner in which 

145



African people think, act or speak in different situations of 
11life.”  It is ostensible that Mbiti's definition of African 

philosophy does not take written documentation into 
consideration. Hence, African philosophers like Bodunrin 
and Wiredu will find problem with this type of definition of 
African philosophy. In a different approach to the definition 
of African philosophy, Olusegun Oladipo gathers from K. C. 
Anyanwu that African philosophy is embedded in African 
socio-cultural way of thinking and acting about issues that 

12relate with African social concerns.  In addition to 
Anyanwu's perspective of African philosophy, Pantaleon 
Iroegbu, asserts that “African philosophy is the reflective 
inquiry into the marvels and problems that confronts one in 
the African world in view of producing systematic 

13explanation and sustained responses to them.”  The same 
view is evident in Francis Ogunmodede's assertion that, 
“African philosophy is the articulated doctrines and theories 

14based on African cultural experience.”  The definition of 
Ogunmodede implies that African philosophy is a 
contemplative activity based on the historical, cultural, 
religious and technological experiences of Africans in 
relationship with the divine, nature and harmonious society. It 
is obvious from the three scholars that African philosophy is 
concerned with reflection on African cultural realities 
observable in their day to day activities.

Nevertheless, Oladipo in his own view does not 
appreciate any definition of African philosophy that fails to 
enhance creativity and transformation capable of improving 
human existence. He is strongly opposed to any definition of 
African philosophy that lay much emphasis on static 
tradition, doctrines and culture. In the opinion of Okolo, 
African philosophy like other philosophies is a logical, 
rational and systematic inquiry into the existential realities in 

15
Africa society.  For him, the contents of African philosophy 
are universal issues and concerns of peoples in other cultures 
of the world. The manner of approach to interpretation and 
expression of existential realities may differ from culture to 
culture.

Kwasi Wiredu in his own approach to the definition and 
understanding of African philosophy identified three-way to 
the definition and understanding of African philosophy. The 

146



first one he describes as collective bold assertions that are 
16rooted in “what our ancestors said”  without adequate 

justification. This type of African philosophy is not written 
but inherited from one generation to the other in the 

17community.  This first category of African philosophy forms 
the body of communal thoughts and appreciated values that 
no particular individual can lay claim to them. He defined the 
second category of African philosophy as that, 

in which one might refer to the thought of a class of 
individuals in traditional African societies who, 
though unaffected by modern intellectual influences, 
are capable of critical and original philosophical 
reflection as distinct as from repetitions of folk ideas 
of their peoples. Because the fruits of such reflections 
are generally not perpetuated in prints, they tend to be 
swamped in the pool of communal thought leaving it, 

18
if anything at all, only faint traces.  
This is a peculiar way of generating definition for 

African philosophy as evidenced in the dialogue between two 
19

legends, Grianule and Ogotemmelli as Wiredu claimed.  It is 
observed that the categories of African philosophy identified 
by Wiredu are situated in ethno-philosophy. The third sense 
of African philosophy recognised by him is “the results of the 
work of individual Africans using the intellectual resources of 

20
the modern world to grapple with philosophical problems.”  
The intellectual resources he meant includes written 
documentation with supportive arguments. For him, 
therefore, a credible definition of African philosophy must be 
based on the last category of African philosophy where 
scholars are expected, “to philosophise in a manner that takes 
account of development in logic, mathematics, science and 

21humanities.”  Nonetheless, Wiredu did not condemn ethno-
philosophy in its entirety but recommended a kind of 
reconstruction with intellectual tools to determine its 
originality and justify its relevance to the contemporary 
world. From the aforesaid, one can see that it is hard to have a 
universal definition of African philosophy because of the 
strong influence coming from diverse affinities that are 
peculiar to every African scholar.
 

 
Criteria for a credible definition of African philosophy

147



It is generally believed that philosophy anywhere and 
anytime is the love and quest for knowledge about the 
physical and metaphysical realities recognised by man and 

22
how to bring growth and development to the society.  What is 
African is anything that shares the characteristics that set 
Africans apart from people of different continents. Hence, 
what can be defined as African philosophy needs to illustrate 
African perspective of the desire for knowledge about all the 
existential realities in their daily experience and how they 
affect their social life. According to C.S. Momoh, “it is 
difficult, if not impossible to draw a sharp line between 

 23
world-view and philosophy”  of any group of people in 
Africa.  Hence, one cannot easily make a clear cut distinction 
between the world view, existential realities and the meaning 
of philosophy for any community. 

There is need to note that the definition of African 
philosophy that goes along the above line of thought can 
come either from African or non-African philosophers 
located anywhere in the world. This implies that as we have 
African philosophers whose works are based on European 
perspective of the quest for wisdom and knowledge, there are 
also non-African scholars who are experts in African 

24perception of philosophy.  The language of writing must not 
necessarily be African for any definition of African 
philosophy to be credible. As we have different stages in the 
history and meaning of Western philosophy, the same 
standard is applicable in African philosophy. The approach 
may be different but the experience and the desire to get 
involve in philosophical activities is  the same.

Evaluation and Conclusion
A guarded look at the history of African philosophy 

shows that the challenges against the recognition and 
acceptance of African philosophy are derived largely from 
early European bias of mind as evidenced in the denial of 
Africans' ability to engage in intellectual endeavours. As a 
matter of fact, they do not believe that Africans have any 
history and peculiar approach to the understanding of realities 
of life. It is popularly known that “European scholars and 
historians, until recently, had approached the question of 
African history with racial prejudice, just as it is being done to 

148



African philosophy today.” Therefore, it is not a surprise that 
African philosophy is going through a difficult time to 
imprint herself into the consciousness of all that care for its 
contents.

There is no gain saying that the heroic goal of many 
European scholars is to deny the historical contributions of 
the African continent to the growth and development of 
Greek philosophy described as the origin of philosophical 
enterprise. As a matter of fact, it has been imparted into the 
perception of an average European many years ago that every 
African philosophical creativity is not better than materials 
meant for refuse dump. As Maurice M. Makumba highlights, 
“genuine African (philosophical) contribution is dismissed 
by some (European scholars) as unphilosophical on the basis 
that it is unwritten, as if literacy was a condition for logical or 

26
philosophical thinking.”  After all, the great historian, 
Herodotus, was clear in his writings that many notable ideas 
in human history and icons of history have their roots in 

27African civilization.  This was possible because Egyptian 
cities like Memphis, Thebes, Hermopolis and Heliopolis 
were described as the centres of learning before Ionia and 

28other Greek cities.  But today many European scholars are 
not ready to acknowledge this these evidences and are even 
trying to frustrate any attempt to bring them to the lime light, 
perhaps because of their national pride or superiority 
complex.

It is incontrovertible that Africans are capable of rational 
thinking and to hold any contrary view to what is real and 
evident is to be unphilosophical. According to Placide 
Tempels, “anyone who claims that primitive peoples possess 
no system of thought, excludes them thereby from the 

29category of men.”  This implies that anthropological enquiry 
has established the fact that every human being, including 
Africans, is capable of intellectual activities. The scholars of 
every culture, black or white, contribute to the universal pool 
of knowledge that helps man to have a better understanding of 
the realities that constitute his existential experience in a 
particular society. It is the contributions of every culture to the 
contents of philosophy that is known as African or European, 
American or Arabic, Indian or Chinese philosophy. If history 
of African society provides supportive evidence to show that 
she makes reasonable contributions to the concerns of 

149



philosophy then African philosophy deserves its rightful 
place in the academic world.

Now that the problems confronting the growth, 
development and acceptance of African philosophy have 
been identified, it is the responsibility of every contemporary 
African philosopher to resolve the problems that are holding 
back her progress and position in the world. Contemporary 
African philosophers are duty-bound to put into writing the 
diverse ethno-philosophical ideas that are identified in 
African cultural society as the wisdom of the elders. The same 
obligation is required of them for any philosophical thought 
traceable through oral history to an African personality. After 
all, that was how some philosophical ideas in Greek culture 
were later written down and circulated to the whole world. 
For instance, Plato and Xenophon put together in writing a lot 
of Socrates' philosophical thoughts. Plato actually developed 

30
and taught them to his pupils in the academy he established.  
This is one of the ways that traditional African philosophy can 
be salvaged from oblivion.

When it comes to the problem of language in African 
philosophy, it is not feasible now to have a single language for 
expressing African philosophy because African continent has 
the largest diversity of languages in the world. This paper 
subscribes to the view that African philosophy needs to be 
written in African language of the author as much as it is 
possible. This is because the essence of a philosophical idea 
and concept can only be expressed in the language of the 
author. Nonetheless, efforts must be made to get a good 
translation of such African philosophy in relevant languages 
for wider audience. This is how Western philosophy made 
herself domiciliary nearly everywhere in the world. But 
where this ideal is not possible, the work could be written in 
any language of the author's choice. 

Besides, African ethno-philosophy and philosophical 
sagacity may sometimes replete of questionable evidence, 
logic and methodology because of the characteristics of their 
origin. As evident, they are the thought patterns of the 
ancestors of a community or intellectual acuity of an 
outspoken individual in a particular African society. 
Therefore, contemporary African philosophers are to rise up 
to the challenge of making any aspect of African philosophy 

150



to have a standard methodology, scientific evidence and 
logical presentation. All these, including the definition of 
African philosophy, must be done to reflect African world 
view and understanding of the perceived realities that are part 
and parcel of their social lives. By the time African scholars 
consider the demands and recommendations of this paper, 
African philosophy will then attain her rightful place in the 
world philosophies. 

ENDNOTES
1. As G. E. Azenabor puts it, “understanding the concept or nature of 

anything is a formidable task, especially in an academic circle. This is 
because academicians, more than any other group of people, are 
intellectually cantankerous and ideologically unyielding.” Second 
edition of his book titled: Understanding The Problems in African 
Philosophy, (Lagos: First Academic Publishers, 2002), p. 1.

2. Ibid. p. 9.
3. Ibid. p. 18.
4. Olusegun Oladipo ed., The Third Way in African Philosophy: Essays in 

Honour of Kwasi Wiredu, (Ibadan: Hope Publications Ltd., 2002), p. 
27.

5. G.E. Azenabor, p. 8.
6. Ibid. p. 2. 
7. Emmanuel Chukwudi Eze, ed., African philosophy: An Anthology, 

(Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 1998), p. 29.
8. G.E. Azenabor, p. 8.
9. Ibid. pp. 8-9.
10. D. A. Masolo, African philosophy in search of identity, (Bloomington: 

Indiana University Press, 1994), p. 43.
11. J. S. Mbiti, African Religions and Philosophies, (London: Heinemann 

Educational Books Ltd. 1969), p. 2. He also sees African philosophy “in 
the religion, proverbs, oral traditions, ethics and morals of the society 
concerned.” p. 2.

12. Olusegun Oladipo, The Idea of African Philosophy, (Ibadan: Molecular 
Publishers, 1992), p. 4. 

13. Pantaleon Iroegbu, Enwisdomization and African Philosophy, 
International University Press, 1994, p. 116.

14. Francis Ogunmodede, unpublished class hand notes on African 
Philosophy given at Saints Peter and Paul Major Seminary, Bodija, 
Ibadan, 1993, p. 12.

15. ChukwuDum B. Okolo, African Social and Political Philosophy 
Selected Essays, (Nsukka: Fulladu Publishing Company, 1993), pp. 4-
5.

16. Kwasi Wiredu, Philosophy and An African Culture, (London: 
Cambridge University Press, 1980), p. 47.

17. Ibid.

451



18. Ibid. p.37.
19. Ibid.
20. Ibid. 
21. Ibid.
22. “etymologically speaking, therefore, philosophy connotes “love for 

wisdom” or knowledge”. in G. E. Azenabor, Understanding The 
Problems of African Philosophy, (Lagos: First Academic 
Publishers, 2002), p. 3.

23. C.S. Momoh, “African Philosophy: Past, Present and Future” in The 
Nigerian Journal of Philosophy, vol. 11, Nos. 1 and 2, 1991), p. 13.

24. Ibid. p. 18.
25. Ibid. p. 18.
26. Maurice M. Makumba, Introduction to PHILOSOPHY, (Nairobi: 

Paulines Publications Africa, 2005), p. 133.
27. Ibid.
28. As quoted in the book of Makumba, Africanus Horton was credited to 

say that “pilgrimages were made to Africa in search of knowledge by 
such men as Solon, Plato, Pythagoras; and several came to listen to the 
instructions of the African Euclid, who was at the head of the most 
celebrated mathematical school in the world and flourished 300 years 
before the birth of Christ…Origen, Tertullian, Augustine, Clemens, 
Alexandrius, and Cyril, who were fathers and writers of the primitive 
church, were tawny African bishops of Apostolic renown.” p. 133. This 
quotation is cited by M.M. Makumba in the work of James Africanus 
Horton, West African Centuries and Peoples, (Edinburgh: Edinburgh 
University Press, 1868), p.59.

29. Placides Tempels, Bantu Philosophy, trans. Colin King, (Paris: 
Presence Africaine, 1969), p. 21.

30. 30“Like Buddha in the East, Socrates left no writings, for he wrote 
nothing. But his life and teaching made such a deep impression on his 
friends and disciples that two of them wrote books about him. 
Xenophon and especially Plato wrote about his life and teaching.” 
Cited in Joseph Omoregbe, Knowing Philosophy, second edition, 
(Lagos: Joja Press Ltd., 2005), p. 91.

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