Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

It was the German scientist Albert Einstein who said, "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them" In other words, human beings ought to constantly generate new thoughts and ideas to tackle the problems of life. Today, more than ever, there is an urgent need for a new thinking culture in Africa. The thinking faculty is what separates human beings from other animals. While modes of thinking distinguish human beings or groups of human beings from each other. So, the fact is that all human beings think. But no two human beings -even identical twins- think exactly the same way.

Different persons think differently. Every individual is unique. That is why any institution that insists on conformity of thought goes against the currents of human development. Diversity typifies the way humans are and do things. Though some persons may be of like mind, that is they share similar outlook and world views, that does not necessarily mean that they hold like views. People's perspectives and opinions differ, conflict and contradict each other. And it is to the dynamics of conflict and contradiction of ideas that we owe human's intellectual and moral progress. Simply put the engine of intellectual growth is lubricated with the oil of civilized debate, dissent and disagreement.

Sometimes those that belong to a particular group - family, community, organization, race, religion or region entertain cognate thoughts. The reasons are not far-fetched. The ability to think is not just natural, it is cultural. Thought patterns are not only genetic they are environmental. People's mental attitudes and dispositions are shaped, nurtured and honed by their social milieu - birth, background, upbringing, learning and experience. So, if you differ in thought with someone it may not just be because you are different persons. Or because you are right or wrong. It may be because your background, upbringing, learning and experiences are different. So, thinking is nourished. Thoughtfulness is not acquired automatically. That one is a human being means that the person can think, not necessarily that the person is thoughtful. Without nourishment, the intellect is famished. The mind is stunted and one's thinking stagnates. That is why institutions or establishments that do not encourage free, independent and original thinking always embody primitive, primordial and Dark Age tendencies.

So, people's modes of thinking change, grow and develop. Overtime, life experiences transform, shape and sharpen the ways individual reason.

And the depth, degree and scale of this mental operation differ from place to place, from person to person, from country to country and from time to time.. Sometimes these changes occur in ways that translate them into inventions and innovations that enrich human lives. At other times, these thinking leaps define eras, age and civilizations in human history. If humankind moved from a Stone Age to an Iron Age, from hunting and gathering to industrial and information age; if human beings packed away from caves and moved into skyscrapers, it is because of leaps of thought and intellection. Some problems persist in certain parts of the world mainly because those who reside there have refused to abandon the mindset that created the problems. They have refused to discard the mode of thinking that fuels and feeds on those troubles. Indeed, the problems that confront human beings in different parts of the world reflect the level, quality and standard of thought that prevail in those areas. Because it is the canons of thought that drive, determine and direct people's abilities, energies and capacity to tackle and resolve issues.

So, if humanity is to tackle the problem that plague the world - financial crisis, poverty, terrorism, wars and conflicts, diseases, hunger, starvation and climate change, there is need for a new thinking. There is need for fresh thoughts and ideas And this is particularly the case in Africa. For centuries, Africa has remained stagnant, without making significant progress, while other parts of the world continue to develop in leaps and bounds.  Instead, the continent has been a dumping and recycling ground for outdated ideas, thought patterns and conceptions. Early in this 21st century, Africa has remained underdeveloped because Africans have yet to forge a thinking culture that challenges the status quo. Africa still lacks the canons of thought to conquer overcome and banish its own underdevelopment. In most parts of Africa, people have mindsets that are stuck in the past, which they have refused to abandon. The thinking culture is pre-modern, pre-scientific, and pre-technological. The popular mentality is superstitious, occultic, mythical, magical and fetish. Most Africans believe in the potency and efficacy of charms and amulets.  In Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi, Ghana, those alleged to be witches and wizards are still attacked, persecuted and murdered. In Tanzania, Albinos are hunted down and killed by those who claim that their body contains magical powers. While in Mozambique, Uganda, and Switzerland ritual killing and sacrifice is still carried out by those who believe such would make them rich, secure, successful, powerful and prosperous. The intellectual culture on the continent is still one that is congenial, not repellant, to the forces of poverty, ignorance, superstition, diseases, wars and corruption.

The prevailing mental regime is still one that cannot orchestrate the needed leaps to genuine renaissance and emergence. So, Africa needs a new thinking culture to recreate, renew and radically transform itself. But we must note that every wave of thought comes with its own problems and challenges. By solving old problems, we generate new ones. And that means we should never stop thinking. We should never stop generating ideas and solutions. We ought to think without ceasing. Because an authentic thinking culture is one that constantly renews itself.