THE AFRICAN (IGBO) CONCEPT OF AKARA AKA: A PHILOSOPHICAL REASSESSMENT

Abstract

The  issue  of  human  success  and  failure  has  raised  series  of  questions  in  history.  Some argue  that  all human  experiences  (success  and  failure)  are  solely  Akara  Aka  based,  that is,  pre-ordained or predestined by ‘Divinity’ and that man can never alter them; others argue in very opposite, that they are all man’s conscious effort and determination to maximize  his  existential  potentiality  to  explore  nature;  whereas  many  others  posit  that they are the combination of Akara Aka and man’s effort to maximize his existential possibilities.  At  this,  we  may  ask:  (1)  If  there  is  Akara  Aka,  why  must  some  be  pre-ordained for success and others failures? (2) In the face of Akara Aka, what is the fate of human endowments, tendencies and capabilities and most of all, the human freedom and volition  which  are  the  core  ingredients  of  human  existence?  Or  what  is  the  difference between luck/fortune, God’s blessings on hard works and Akara Aka? (3) Is God still an impartial and just God if some people’s Akara Aka are failures or hard-going while some success  or  easy-going?  (4)  What  is  then  the  true  nature  of  God  and  man  vis-à-vis  the question of evil and moral judgments on people’s actions? Nevertheless, we will here try to  analyze  and  evaluate  the  whole  idea  of  Akara  Aka  and the  implications  from  its  Igbo understanding  and  then  try  to  evaluate  if  there  is  limit  to  divine  interference  or penetrations  in  human  affairs.  In  doing  this,  we  will  employ  expository,  analytical  and comparative methods.