Globalization, cultural identity and the preservation of Africa’s cultural heritage for sustainable development

It is a well-known fact that Africa exists in a globalized world and its political economy is impacted by activities generated at the international domain. These activities have far reaching implications on the political, economic, religious, environment and especially, the socio-cultural milieu of Africa. The paper reflected on the implications of globalization on the preservation of the rich cultural identity of Africa for sustainable development. Although, it is conceded that globalization has some positive aspects, however, such benefits have not engendered the desired development of the African political economy. The paper adopted the dependency theory which argues that the abandonment of Africa’s cultural identity and its integration into the international capitalist economy dominated by Western capitalist ideas has eroded Africa’s rich cultural values and retarded development on the continent. Data for the study were obtained from mainly secondary sources such as journal articles, text books, internet materials, etc. and analyzed using content analytical technique. Analysis of the data revealed that the erosion of Africa’s rich cultural identity and her integration into the international capitalist system is responsible for the many development crises being experienced on the continent: poverty, unemployment, lack of industrialization, migration, wars and conflicts. The paper recommended amongst other things, a revival of African nationalism, and an attempt by African governments for indigenous, self-development efforts in natural resources, agriculture and industry.