White Angel vs Black Angel: Are Africans truly less intelligent and inferior?

Posu Joseph |

Africans and the people of colour, in particular, are perceived as symbols of inferiority by Westerners.

Black people, to the Westerners, are symbol of destitution, poverty, disease, hunger, inferiority and shame.

Most importantly, we are believed to be far less intelligent and so, on the global scale of decision making, we are schemed out and relegated to the periphery.

 Just take a look at the UN, FIFA, FIBA, IMF, IBRD e.t.c and the picture would become more clearer. But then, are Africans truly less intelligent ?  Who do we hold responsible for our woes  ? Is our level of intelligence responsible for our backwardness or the colour of our skin  ?

Attempts have been made in time past,  especially during the Charles Darwin Era, to show the relationship between human intelligence and genetic factors.

The proponents of this idea believed that there is a very high correlation between human intelligence and the race of individual and consequently, Intelligent Quotient ( IQ)  was birthed.

 This ' scientific racism ' pointed at one thing : Africans and the blacks are the least intelligent genetically. But is that the case  ? 

Human brain is the most complex object in the universe. At birth, the brain has the capacity of about 100 billion cells !  Just like muscle, human brain is strengthened by use and weakened by disuse.

In every second, millions of bit of information is poured into it from various senses. Human brain, from which imagination, thought, reasoning, consciousness, dream and intelligence originate from, has nothing to do with genetic factors for its functionality but has everything to do with environment for its potency.

 Jim Flynn would absolutely concur with my assertion here in his research work that human intelligence has to do with environment and not genetic codification as inter-tribal marriages have reduced drastically reliance on genetic factors.

THE ENVIRONMENT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE

The human brain is hugely influenced by the environment as earlier stated. The food intake, the warm affection, etc received from early life goes a long way in determining the success of the individual in future.

Science of Neglect confirms this. A child that is raised in an environment of loneliness would definitely grow up believing sadness is a normal thing.

 Such a child would see happiness as strange because the information the brain cells are accustomed to is sadness and loneliness and happiness become ' foreign ' to the brain.

WESTERN CHILD AND AFRICAN CHILD COMPARED

In UK, at age 3, the child is enrolled compulsorily in school system free of charge unless the parents feel otherwise. The state school to be attended by a child from poorest home is the same to be attended by the Prime Minister's child.

The child is treated with love and care from tender age. That child is given the opportunity to explore his world and thus, the creativity in him is brought out.

 He learns in the most conducive environment  and his reasoning capacity is developed. With this, the brain cells become very active from early years and the child grows up with it. Like muscle, the brain becomes active by constant use.

In Africa, at age 3, an average African child is hopeless, occasioned by poverty, disease, malnourishment and destitution.

 Perhaps by age 5, he is enrolled in a primary school where the teacher has to teach under a mango tree. Or perhaps, the roofing of the classroom is condemned and the child is exposed to all forms of danger. The risk factor of schooling in this instance is very high.

The child has no reasoning exercise to carry out because the teacher is too weak to reason. He has no food in his belly. 

The brain of the child, just like that of the teacher, is weakened by disuse. Remember, human brain functions like muscle - strengthened by use and weakened by disuse.

In comparison, the UK child has an edge over the African child in terms of intelligence. What makes the difference is not the gene but the environment.

 Let us swap the deal now. This time, the UK child is brought to Africa and the African child is now in UK. The African child would be highly active than the UK child because of the environment.

Africans are not sub-human. We are no less intelligent. Our intelligence is as high as that of anyone in the world. Give us the right environment and watch us succeed.

So many engineers, doctors, musicians, scientists etc died in Africa without their potential realised. Their dreams and aspirations are rotten below the surface of the earth because of poor environment. African children live an unsecured life.

 They live in fear, poverty, disease and hunger. These are potential killers of human intelligence.

Philip Emegwali lamented in 2004 in his paper presentation where he noticed that Africa is blessed with raw steel. We export steel and then import cars that are 100 per cent made of steel.

It has nothing to do with our intelligence but the environment. Our leaders know they cannot provide the right environment, so they send their children abroad.

They mortgage the future of African children through high-profile corruption and embezzlement. 

The continent looks dark or even darker, not because it is made up of black people, but because we have leaders with dark minds.

Africa is not dark. So, it produces Anthony Joshua, Philip Emegwali, Wole Shoyinka, Nelson Mandela etc.

Africans are not slaves. We are not inferior. Be proud of your heritage but hold your leaders accountable.

We are Africans, we are proud and we are no less - intelligent.