In chapter one of his book, Adebayo Oyebade based his main argument and description on the study of Africa and its historical perspective. The author describes Africa as the prime facilitator of the history of human development and civilizations as seen today. On the other hand, Molefi Kete Asante has also presented the same argument as Adebayo by discussing the history of Africa, with the central theme being the quest for eternal harmony. In this case, the authors had described similar information to the video lecture by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who also narrates the story regarding African life when she lived in Nigeria, one of the African countries. Although the two readings and the video have described different things, they share a common perspective in presenting African history in different contexts, thus portraying their interconnection.
The central theme in Adebayo’s book chapter is a critical evaluation of how Africa has been intellectualized in the history of opinions and ideas across all ages, suggesting how the examination of its historical perspective has changed over time (Oyebade, 2000). Moreover, the chapter has outlined numerous issues like the ancient times of African history, the preservation of the history and the historical consciousness during pre-colonial Africa. In this context, the history of Africa was apprehended as knowledge that lasted from the past and contemporary times. This means that the historical aspect of Africa stretched from the past to the present day. Furthermore, the Africans were conscious of the historical importance of the events that kept occurring. In this case, the start of the African oral history dates back to the foundation of the communities which exercised the African culture through multiple forms like poetry, proverbs, myths and riddles, as well as religious perspectives.
The central theme in the book written by Molefi Kete Asante is the description of Africa’s purpose. In this context, the book does not describe Europeans in Africa or any interconnection between the Europeans and Africa but offers straightforward, factual and illustrated text regarding the standpoint of the Africans (Asante, 2018). Moreover, the historical stories provided in the book have been narrated by the Africans concerning the historical perspective of their heroes, leaders and nation.
The themes identified from the two readings are relevant to the video since they comprehensively describe the historical perspective of Africa without any connection to other countries outside Africa. As the books suggest on the lives of Africans in history, Chimamanda tells the story of her mother and life in Nigeria, an African country (Chimamanda et al.). In this case, the readings are relevant to the video by describing African History. Adebayo describes how the Europeans underrated the Africans by suggesting that African history began due to European contact with Africa. This means the European countries did not recognize Africa as a historical pioneer. This is similar to the lecture in the video since the author’s friend in America was surprised by how she spoke fluent English. This shows that Africans should have been recognized. Thus, the readings are relevant to the video.
The authors have successfully presented their arguments and ideas since they have presented the information in full detail that, attracts the reader, facilitating understanding. All the readings have placed the central theme in the topics at the beginning, providing the overview of the reading for easy understanding.
In conclusion, the authors in the two readings have described the history of Africa. These readings are similar to the video where the author presents her life in Nigeria, one of the African countries. In this case, African history connects the two readings with the video. The readings describe the context of Africa by suggesting its heroes, leaders and nations.
References
Asante, M. K. (2018). The history of Africa: The quest for eternal harmony. Routledge.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story: https://youtu.be/D9Ihs241zeg
Oyebade, A. (2000). The study of Africa from a historical perspective. Africa, 1, 7–22.
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