He expressed concern that the enthronement of technology over culture and popular way of life might be too radical, and may break the sociological threads of African society.
Falola who spoke at a public lecture titled: Technology, technical education, culture and society at Federal College of Education (Technical), Akoka, said the advancement of technology is responsible for the distribution of European culture.
He argued that technology can consume valuable cultural values that are supposed to be beneficial to the society, adding that social decadence and increase in social vices could be the results of the adoption of new developments and technology without sieving out the parts that are not favourable when considering the cultural history of the people.
He said: “The enthronement of technological advancement over African culture might be considered a subtle means of neo-colonialism. Where access to these developments is either not directly available in Africa or requires certain commitments, it creates a level of control.
“There is a need to emphasise local entrepreneurship. I want to suggest, however, an emphasis by higher education leadership on three months practical technical education/apprenticeship for students with roadside artisans (welders, mechanics, saw millers etc.). The aim is to get students to learn the basics in the skills and knowledge of the practical side of the business.”
He urged the African government to prioritise development saying that no nation or people will make significant societal progress without consciously planning for it, and providing the enabling environment, policies, incentives, strategies and pathways for development.
“Individuals may prosper in the current state of affairs, but as a nation and as a continent, a developmental mindset is needed to move us to the promised land.
“Cultures do not just start in a vacuum, they are developed discoveries and approaches that have endured through time and they include technological breakthroughs that have today been considered artefacts or at best obsolete.” Falola said the present technological developments, if they endure for a long time, would become the cultures of tomorrow that may also be replaced with another technology.”`
