Book Reviews

African Women and Political Development
by Omoh Tsatsaku Ojior

The status of African women, the political history of African women, from the Pharaohnic period are among the exciting and thought provoking chapters that are contained in this comprehensive research as it helps to unravel on of the most controversial aspects in African studies; the role of African women in the African society.

Through a careful examination of the pre and post-European invasion of Africa , the African culture and the African Woman, Professor Omoh
Ojior confronts long standing western perspectives which have argued
that the aspiration and self-identification processes of the African
women should coincide with those of women in western societies in order to meet the high standard of being “human.” The African women, most western scholars have often argued, must seek and obtain in the exact terms the age long objectives of women liberation movements in the west. By implication, she should be concerned with issues of equality with men and compete for those rights at all costs. As a result of this bias, most western commentators who are committed to this viewpoint are completely blinded to the possibility that the African women can, as human beings determine for themselves what is right from wrong.

Through a re-conceptualization of the true nature of problems that the
African faces, Omoh Tsatsaku Ojior was able to address the years of
ignorance and misconceptions. This exhaustive study culminates with an in-depth case study of Etsako women in Edo State of Nigeria , a first
for most studies of its kind.

In a richly textured combination of both macro and micro examination of the structural imperative of western and African women, he brings fresh and profound insight into the cultural gulf which women in the west are often eager to seal or overlook. Through carefully researched and in-depth analysis, Ojior wades into the controversy surrounding the role of African women and reveals what he calls a plot to
systematically destabilize the African family. In this plot, African-American women, who are presumably the bridge between the
western world and African women, have unknowingly become the harbingers of the western feminist ideas.

Ojior cautions that the wholesale attempt to convert African women to
western ways would have dire consequences. Among the dangers posed are the destruction of both the traditional family structures and the family value system. “…and eventually, lead to a moral void and the
collapse of these societies,” he added. This researcher goes beyond the
traditional mode of discourse to penetrate the vital fabric of the
African society through an in-depth study of life in a rural community.
His findings, which are as staggering as they are instructive, provide
a preponderance of evidence to support every claim. To prevent the
continued cultural destabilization of African societies, Etsako,
Nigeria and Africa by extension, will need to educate and politically
socialize their women from an African socio-cultural frame work that
will not only lead to a greater sense of mutual respect but a healthy
environment as well for growth and prosperity.

Austin Ogunsuyi, Ph.D.
Professor of Political Science
Shorter College
Rome, Georgia

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Reviews

“If I may comment, the African tradition has for ages been the focus and fascination Europeans and others as well been the object of ridicule due to ignorance. This journal and the entire Board have therefore taken on an onerous responsibility of assembling bits and pieces of this tradition and culture of Africa and re-presenting it, in a clear and objective version to the world. This is a task that I am glad to be part of.”

Obioma Iheduru, Ph.D. & Professor of Political Science of former Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, Georgia.

“The Journal of African Traditional Studies is an excellent publication, forum for disciplined inquiry into the teachings and learning of the African cultures, and if one is looking for a gold-mine of information on African culture, this is it.”

John Ekuocha, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Political Science, Benedict College at South Carolina.

In his Goodwill Message, Professor Ogirri writes, “I want to thank you and all other people who have contributed immensely to the achievement of the institution’s stated mission and goals within a short time. I want to commend you in particular for your foresight, commitment, diligence, and leadership. I envisage that with your continued dedication, as well as the unalloyed support from all those associated with this venture, we will have many more laudable accomplishments in the future, DV.”