Revisiting john mbiti’s african religions and philosophy (time and future concepts): it’s impact on the long-term strategic development of African nation in the 21st century

Purpose of Study: The purpose of this paper is tom offer a critical review of literature by revisiting John S. Mbiti’s African religions and philosophy on the concepts of time and the future and their impact on the long-term strategic development of African nations in the 21st century. Design and Methodology: This is a critical literature review. Research limitations/ Implications: The subject of revisiting John S. Mbiti’s African religions and philosophy has not been fully researched in relation to strategic management. Consequently, there is limited literature on the subject. More research is needed in this subject to address the strategic development issues bedeviling African-Kenyan people. Practical Implications: This critical review shows that John Mbiti was among the pioneer African scholar immediately after Kenya gained her full independence. As a scholar he laid the precedence and foundation upon which interested development investors from within and outside the Kenyan country will rely. What worked and what did not work depended on what the pioneer scholars will say about their fellow Africans and until today how African Kenyans were and are perceived. They are perceived as people with no future focus and the reason why long-term strategic development may not take off. African-Kenyan development will only be possible in the 21st century through long-term planning, which is futuristic and embraces all the dynamic factors that are at play in the globalized world. Originality/Value: The paper fills the gap in the literature review in that early academic writings had lacked foresight as far as the current strategic planning on development matters are concerned. The concept of lack of the future, or at most its extension to encompass at most two years led to corruption, economic stagnation, poverty and misappropriation of national resources for individual or tribal gains.