Abstract
Akiwowo (1986b) and Makinde (1988) raise several issues on the possibility of an African sociological tradition. They argue that sociology can be done in African idioms and they supply us with some concepts, principally those of `asuwada', `ajobi', `ajogbe' and `ifogbontayese', with which we can begin to work out indigenous sociological theories. In this paper, we accept that it is possible to do sociology in African idioms. But we must specify the concepts to be used, clarify their meaning, suggest their interrelationships in thought and practice and show their applicability to social phenomena. Neither Akiwowo nor Makinde have sufficiently clarified their concepts for doing sociology in Yoruba (their African idiom of choice). We direct attention to some neglected possibilities inhering in the conceptual discoveries made by Akiwowo, especially those regarding the importance of language, philosophy and sociological theory to the development of indigenous explanatory paradigms. We conclude with some general comments on Akiwowo's affirmation of an African sociology of knowledge.
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