| Summary: | Tradition and modernity have been most of the time treated in scholarly debates as
two diametrically-opposed apparatus of African identity. This study illustrates that contrary
to this widely disseminated belief, tradition and modernity are two cronies that are
simultaneously counterproductive and coercive for African communities. For, when closely
examined, tradition and modernity cannot foster any viable notion of self and identity.
Through our discussion of the role of tradition and the interplay of negative tradition within
deplete cultures, it becomes fairly evident that the poor performance of African communities
in matters related to development can be answerable when shedding light on the social
context resultant from the contaminated interconnection between European modernity and
African archaic traditions. The colonial legacy, the context within which European modernity
and African traditions met, according to this study, should not be overlooked for any forwardlooking perspective.
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