view like the above, is akin to Frantz Fanon’s assertion that there indeed “are
civilizations without neckties, civilizations with loin-cloths, and others without hats”,
modernities with wrapper, among others (cited in Prasenjit Duara 2004: 3). Also because
not all postcolonial spaces are equally postcolonial, cosmopolitan practice and the whole
idea of migration of Africans especially to the West deserves new designs, whereby
rather than be fixated on the search for capital flight which instigates human flight in the
direction of capital from the continent, it is about time the continent began a revitalization
of its original modes of modernities which would return the continent to the center of
things.
In this case, cultural, economic, and technological productivity, anchored on good
governance that is not subservient to western imperialist suggestions will bail the
continent and her people from the exclusion and dehumanization they suffer even at their
most privileged in the West. For instance, the continent might as well begin to borrow a
leaf from the practice of what I prefer to call “product cosmopolitanism”, which, to make
but one illustration, is evident in coca-cola cosmopolitanism. The production formula
may be different from country to country, but its American origin has never been in
doubt. Thus, rather than give in to platitudes of intellection and the uncritical movement
of African peoples across western spaces, the movement of our products around the globe
will confer greater respect on the continent precisely because of the economic relevance
and gains that will ultimately accrue to the continent. The contention can then be summed
as being in tandem with the very idea of the Ashcroft (2007:8) assertion that “diaspora
begins at home”, and like Serote has concurred, we can bring nothing into the global
village except “what we bring from home” (2004:22).
Once this is adhered to, Africans can actually reverse the tide of resource flight in all
ramifications. Migration at this point will also provide for the continent a face of global
equity as economic fecundity of the continent will necessarily bring about productive
movement across her borders from the rest of the world and with material gains to boot.
To borrow an idea from Philip Emeagwale (2007:3), the challenge is also about taking
advantage of contemporary technological advancement and using it to the continent’s