Exploring Efforts of Integrating Progressive Aspects of Cultures into Development and Purging Retrogressive Ones from Development Framework in a Score of African Countries

Integration of progressive aspects of cultures into development could be a panacea and some cultural architects believe that it could spur and increase sustainable and meaningful development. The aim of the present paper is to explore efforts of integrating the progressive aspects of culture as well as possibilities of purging the retrogressive ones from the development frameworks. The paper has used a review of literature methodology. The paper indicates that integrating progressive aspects of cultures achieves the following: makes development peoplecentered and peoplecentric; increases the principle of inclusivity in development; and grounds society into a state of socialism and communalism. The paper proposes the following aspects of culture to be purged out of development agenda: culture of promiscuity; immoral culture of dressing; culture of laziness and dependence syndrome; faulty belief systems; culture of greed and corruption; culture of violence and animosity among countries; and culture of xenophobia. The paper recommends that Africans undergo a paradigm shift of their mindset to accept integration of cultures as a panacea in development.