Africa Must Be Modern

Olúfémi Táíwò is Professor of Africana Studies at the Africana Studies and Research Center, Cornell University. He is author of How Colonialism Preempted Modernity in Africa (IUP, 2010).

Whoever thinks he knows the problem of Africa had better read this book. Whoever feels there is no known solution that can apply should read this book first; but whoever wishes to remain unperturbed about the African predicament had better not read this book. This book almost certainly will challenge any mind. The author has evidently written down thoughts that cost him his sleep for many years now.(African Studies Quarterly) Táiwò's firm and fierce argument is timely because it unapologetically prompts questions. . .45.4 Winter 2014(Research in AFRICAN LITERATURES) This book is a brave and boisterous attempt to challenge Africa to follow a clear-cut development trajectory in the face of its disappointing performance in the development arena in the post-colonial period. Taiwo provides an interesting analysis of modernity as the key to attaining Africa's development. The author's bold declarations on Africa's development trajectory make the book exceedingly readable, and place Taiwo amongst the ranks of other African development trajectory scholars like Sabelo Ndlovu and Moeletsi Mbeki.(African Affairs) Africa Must Be Modern is an important statement that should be debated in both the academy that Táíwò critiques and the African public sphere he hopes to engage.(Journal of West African History)

• Preface to the U.S. EditionAcknowledgements Introduction1. Why Africa Must Get on Board the Modernity Express2. The Sticky Problem of Individualism3. The Knowledge Society and Its Rewards4. Count, Measure, and Count Again5. Process, not Outcome: Why Trusting Your Leader, Godfather, Ethnic Group or Chief May Not Best Secure Your Advantage6. Against the Philosophy of Limits: Installing a Culture of HopeIndex