Author from Upper Marlboro, MD, publishes philosophical book

“Reclaiming Traditions of Igbo Education and the Legacy of the Holy Ghost Missionaries,” a new book by Okonkwo Remigius Nwabichie, has been published by Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc.

WHAT IMPACT HAS CHURCH-BASED MISSIONARY EDUCATION (CME) HAD ON AFRICA, ESPECIALLY SINCE THE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURIES?

Reclaiming Traditions of Igbo Education and the Legacy of the Holy Ghost Missionaries provides answers to this question. This book critically examines the advantages and disadvantages of the Church Missionary Education (CME) of the Holy Ghost Missionaries among the Nd’Igbo in southeast Nigeria. It questions the appropriateness of their philosophy and examines the appropriateness of the methods used to promote it.

While critics bemoan the damage done to Africa’s educational traditions by European explorers, merchants, colonialists and missionaries, their defenders claim they did the best they could under the circumstances. They ask: “Why not get on with the affairs of modern times rather than revisiting the past?” But the effects of the European presence in Africa are not a thing of the past. They are part of the “current and existential socio-economic, political, religious and educational struggles of Africa today.”1

This book describes the limitations of the missionaries’ neo-colonizing philosophy of education and calls for an alternative. The alternative proposed is a philosophy of holism that would lead Africans to a liberating and liberal Christian Religious Education (CRE) of the Gospels. This, it is argued, would better meet their needs and aspirations and better heal the wounds of their colonial past.

About the author
OKONKWO REMIGIUS NWABICHIE is a priest of the Diocese of Orlu. He holds degrees in philosophy, theology, administration and religious education. He is the author of Religion for Morality in Education, Self-Reliant African Churches and the forthcoming Methods for Promoting Christian Religious Education in Africa. He is a lively debater on Igbo/African affairs and curriculum development and can be reached at: [email protected] or [email protected].

Reclaiming Traditions of Igbo Education and the Legacy of the Holy Ghost Missionaries is a 148-page paperback with a retail price of $16.00 (eBook $11.00). The ISBN is 979-8-88925-261-0. It was published by Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Members of the press may request a review copy or author interview at https://bookstore.dorrancepublishing.com/pages/media-requests or purchase the book from our online bookstore at https://bookstore.dorrancepublishing.com/products/reclaiming-traditions-of-igbo-education-and-the-legacy-of-the-holy-ghost-missionaries-towards-a-philosophy-of-wholeness-for-christian-religious-education-in-africa.