Judex Okoro, Calabar
Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar, Prof. Zana Akpagu, has decried the practice of racial discrimination and alienation in the society.
He said such dichotomy is tearing people apart.
Speaking while delivering the 88th inaugural lecture at the International Conference Centre, Calabar, with the theme: “L’Autre: Otherness, Alienation and protest in Francophone Afro-Caribbean Novels,” Akpagu said such alienation is manifest in literature produced by black in the Caribbean which has led to protest to reclaim their identity.
He said: “The black Antillean is the ‘other’; racial other, cultural other, religious other, linguistic other, political other, simply the other.
“His otherness is based notably on his ethnic origin, racial differences and cultural peculiarities.
“To protest this situation of otherness and to find an escape outlet, the black Antillean has reacted in various ways ranging from violent or passive resistance to asserting his self identity. It is an act of protest to reclaim their distinctly unique racial identity and self asserting their Caribeanness. The UN convention on racial discrimination, affirms that racial superiority based on racial differentiation is scientifically false, morally condemnable, socially unjust and economically dangerous as there is no justification for it anywhere in theory or in practice.” he said.