Africa Is Politically Free, But Has It Decolonised Its Mind?

More than 60 years after independence, I believe Africa changed its political managers without fully changing the way it sees itself. Colonialism did not only take land and resources; it also shaped how Africans measure language, names, history and identity. I question why African places still carry colonial names such as Victoria, Livingstone and Rhodes. These places existed long before European rule. Their original names hold the memory and meaning of the people who lived there first. I also challenge the use of grand words such as “castle” for buildings where Africans were imprisoned and forced into slavery. Decolonisation, in my view, must include reclaiming the language, memory and imagination through which Africa understands itself.

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