In a thought-provoking inaugural lecture at the University of Pretoria (UP), renowned philosopher Professor Jonathan O. Chimakonam offered a bold and incisive exploration of what he calls “the real African predicament”.

Prof Chimakonam is a Professor of Philosophy in UP’s Department of Philosophy. During his inaugural lecture, titled ‘The Communal Contract and the Real African Predicament: Colonialysis, Communialysis and the Danger of the Post-Community’, he drew from four decades of lived experience and intellectual reflection to dissect Africa’s historical, psychological, and socio-political challenges and offer a fresh, rigorous framework for understanding the continent’s ongoing struggles.

“I have spent almost my entire life in Africa, and for three-quarters of that time I have been a thinking being,” he said. “I could see that Africa, south of the Sahara, was in trouble. No progress, no synergy, no hope. Each new decade was worse than the preceding one. The past haunts us, the present eludes us, and we have no clear plans for the future.” 

This stark observation set the tone for a lecture that challenged both Eurocentric and Afrocentric narratives, urging Africans to confront the deep-rooted issues that continue to shape the continent.

Prof Chimakonam distanced his analysis from existing scholarly approaches, which he argued misdiagnosed Africa’s core problem. Instead, he articulated what he calls the “real African predicament” as a state of disequilibrium in the psychographics and psychodynamics of society that prioritises collective destruction over collective creation. This disequilibrium, he explained, stems from two opposing psychological tendencies: negative solidarity – the inclination to unite against common threats – and positive solidarity – the inclination to unite to build and create.

In ancient African communal life, these mentalities were never reconciled, creating the conditions for what he terms the “post-community”, a societal formation where the strong few overturned the weak majority to seize power through manipulation, deceit and control.

For Prof Chimakonam, the lingering effects of the post-community remain Africa’s most burdensome historical legacy. “The wardens of the post-community employed manipulation, mass brainwashing, and the categories of terror and fear to control and repress the people,” he explained. This internal vulnerability made communities susceptible to European exploitation during slavery, colonisation and racialisation. Today, he argues, many African leaders are simply “modern-day avatars of the ancient post-community wardens”. Their leadership, often characterised by corruption and mismanagement, is both a product and a perpetuator of the predicament.

He was particularly critical of global narratives that portray Africans as inherently inferior or unintelligent. “Racists falsely state that Africans are inferior and claim that our ‘backwardness’ proves our ‘stupidity’. This is not just lazy and lame; it is a stupid position sponsored by either haters or fools,” he said. Instead of accepting these narratives, Prof Chimakonam applied rigorous historical analysis and hermeneutics to argue that Africa is, to a significant extent, responsible for its own condition. 

While acknowledging the devastating impacts of European colonialism, racism and apartheid, he stressed that these are not Africa’s only problems – nor the primary ones.

He also highlighted the enduring influence of neo-colonial economic, political and cultural forces, which sustain Africa’s vulnerability by supporting leaders afflicted with what the scholar Emefiena Ezeani calls “colonialysis” – the unconscious mental state of imitating the West while rejecting African values. “Without local collaborators, European exploiters cannot possibly score big, as they do in Africa,” he asserted, pointing to a continued cycle of exploitation rooted in both external pressure and internal complicity.

When reflecting on how young Africans are responding to these challenges, Prof Chimakonam introduced another concept: “communialysis”. He defined this as a trauma-induced obsession compelling individuals to retreat to an imagined African communal fortress from which to collectively rebel against oppression. While he acknowledged the passion of younger generations, he cautioned against a simplistic rejection of everything Western and blind acceptance of everything African. “They condemn and reject everything Western and approve everything African as if the former is all evil and the latter all good,” he observed.

He emphasised that education, underpinned by sound policy, remains the most critical driver of meaningful change. He also underscored the role of African universities and scholars in questioning received knowledge and rewriting distorted histories, enabling Africans to reclaim their narratives and agency. He called on academics to interrogate the knowledge they consume and produce, to re-centre African perspectives and regain control over the continent’s story.

Prof Chimakonam concluded his lecture with a call to intellectual action: “If it spurs someone to think, then that would be enough, because out of thinking comes questions, debates, and more thinking, which leads to action, and more action.” His lecture invited scholars, policymakers and citizens alike to confront uncomfortable truths and engage in sustained, rigorous debate about the continent’s future. It was a powerful reminder that the task of reimagining Africa begins with honest reflection – and a willingness to confront both the internal and external forces that have shaped the continent’s trajectory.