Okolo on the Question of African Philosophy and its Periodization

This paper is an attempt to respond to Okolo’s position that African philosophy arrives at the African-European contact. For Okolo, there is what could be referred to as expressions of philosophic tendencies, not-really-philosophy, called ‘philosophy in Africa’ which has existed in Africa, but real-philosophy begins post-Second World War after the attainment of formal education and critical reflection from the pure act of reasoning, hence ‘African philosophy’. Thus, questions arise: ‘Why, in the first place, questioning philosophy, instead of religion, arts, politics, etc? Why must African philosophy, the expression of African wisdom, be a product of African-European contact? A clear problem in Okolo’s position is the affirmation that everything African, especially the essence of being African which Okolo designates with the term ‘being-with’ is either non-African-originated, not really a philosophy or European-originated. This paper defends the thesis that ‘being’ implicates the ‘facticity of existence’ which is the central focus in philosophizing, and once there ‘is’ in Africa before the African-European contact, there ‘is’ ‘philosophy’ in its real sense. This paper is expected to expose Okolo’s weaknesses and make a proposition that philosophy cannot be dated or periodized, and finally that what is African can commendably sustain Africa. The paper shall adopt philosophical conceptual and contextual analysis and clarifications to evaluate Okolo.