Everything Western has taken a bit of a downgrade in my mind. Human rights—but not for all. Rules of war—but only for some. Freedom? Only if your opinion aligns with ours.

On both individual and communal level, dialogue has become a weapon—used to diminish resistance, weaken the fight for a better world, and attack the truth.

So, what is left? Perhaps the mindset that didn’t create colonialism. Let’s move away from Western thinking and embrace African perspectives to gain a new outlook. That’s what I did with Michael.

Michael Onyebuchi Eze is an Assistant Professor of Africana Studies at California State University, Fresno. Previously, he was a Lecturer in African, Global, and Comparative Philosophy at Leiden University and an Affiliate Faculty member at Arrupe Jesuit University in Zimbabwe. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Cambridge, where he studied transitional justice and decolonization in South Africa, and a PhD in History and Cultural Reflection from Universität Witten-Herdecke, where he graduated summa cum laude. His research focuses on Africana philosophy, reconciliation, nonviolence, and African politics, and he has contributed extensively through publications, keynote lectures, and academic conferences.