An Appraisal of Olusegun Oladipo’s Philosophy of African Development

Abstract

The quest for Africa’s development is implicated in African philosophy’s ‘crisis of relevance’, and not many scholars can be said to have given as much attention to this issue as did Olusegun Oladipo. This paper highlights Oladipo’s contributions in this regard, paying particular attention to the relationship between culture and development, as well as his distinction between the ‘culture of belief’ and the ‘culture of inquiry’ as critical factors in the said quest. It further examines what is considered a weakness of the use of the term ‘culture of belief’, proposing an alternative term in order to reinforce Oladipo’s profound contribution to the discourse.