Africa Needs More Researchers, Collaboration, To Tackle Poverty, Others

Africa needs more researchers, and collaboration, to tackle poverty, other challenges-scholars.

Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, Board Chairman, African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) says the continent needs more researchers to tackle the issue of poverty and other challenges amongst its people.

Nawangwe, also the Vice Chancellor, Makerere University, Kampala Uganda stated this at the 4th International biennale conference of the ARUA, on Wednesday in Lagos.

The theme of the three-day conference is: Re-imagining the Future of Higher Education in Africa.

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According to him, universities in Africa must also move fast and internationally so, to be able to liberate itself from the shackles of other multifaceted challenges, occasioned by poor education.

“As Africans, we need to increase the number of researchers in Africa and that is the only sure way we will solve Africa’s problem of abject poverty.

“I want to start my remarks with two quotations from Africa’s great sons, one of whom is Mwalimu Nyerere , who said that ‘While the rest of the world may walk, Africa must run’

“The second quotation is from Nelson Mandela who said ‘Education is the most sure way of transforming society’

“Indeed we do believe that education is the most sure way through which we will transform Africa.

“Africa has gone through a number of setbacks. To me, the biggest one was the wrong advice given to African governments by the world bank which claimed that higher education is a private good and that African countries need not invest in higher education.

“African universities and scholars, have now multiplied from about 200 universities and we now have over 2,500 universities in two decades and the number is increasing. This is a good sign for Africa.

“But that is still much smaller than the number of universities in China which has the same population as Africa,” he said.

He stated that in all, ARUA had become the most vibrant organisation of universities in Africa in the last three years and therefore, should be able to lead the much transformation of the continent.

The don explained that one of the biggest challenge facing the continent was that of population growth.

According to him, the population of the rest of world is declining while that of Africa is rising.

“So there are questions which emerge. How will we feed that population? How shall we make sure that the population is healthy? How shall we ensure that the conflicts that seem not to leave Africa actually diminish even with that increasing population?

“Those are pertinent questions we have to ask. Whatever you researchers are doing, you should always remember you are making a contribution to reducing the poverty in Africa,

“You are also making Africa more stable and making the lives of our people more meaningful.

“I am particularly happy that most of these researchers are young people and that is a good sign for Africa. That gives confidence that our universities and researchers will lead the transformation that we all desire.

“I want to that encourage all of you as you do your work to always remember the pressing issues for Africa.

“I am happy that ARUA has brought together the best minds in Africa, to try and solve these problems. I am happy that the centres of excellence we created are beginning to show relevance and becoming vibrant melting points of knowledge creation,” he said.

Prof. Adam Habib, Director, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, in his keynote address, said that there was the need for the development of a human resource base and an institutional higher educational infrastructure.

According to him, this will require a new form of equitable partnerships between universities in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America.

“It is the inequality in our world that drives students mobility far more than the research intensity of the universities of the North.

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“ And should we as leaders of higher education not be advocating against this model of university and this political economy of our education, because of the negative consequences it has on the institutional architecture of the global academy.

“I have become aware and want to highlight our global challenges and our collective responsibility as higher education leaders in different parts of the world, to build a knowledge base and professional cohorts, needed to manage both our national development needs and contemporary transnational historical burdens of our time.

“It is also worth noting that ARUA and the Guild of European Universities are pioneering a wide range of doctoral and research partnerships.

“ARUA itself also has several other pan-African research and teaching partnerships. We are in a far better place than we were five years ago. But I fear that these initiatives are still at the margins of our normal operations and we are proceeding at a pace that is too slow for the challenges that we confront,” he said.

In her welcome address, Prof Folashade Ogunsola, vice chancellor, University of Lagos, said that Africa had the capability to realise her full potential in development, culture and peace and to establish flourishing, inclusive and
prosperous societies.

She noted that there was the confidence that Africa had what it took to transform the continent for good,

“We thus, commit to act together toward achieving a prosperous Africa, based on inclusive growth and sustainable development. We also aspire for an integrated continent, politically United and based on the ideals of Pan-Africanism and the vision of Africa’s renaissance, among many others,” she said,

The vice chancellor noted that over the years, the ARUA had been at the forefront of redirecting the collective thinking toward intentionally addressing the existential crisis that bedeviled the people of Africa.

According to her, the university of Lagos aligns with this goal and its research and development culture prioritizes addressing urgent societal challenges, particularly within the framework of global agreements, while pursuing an overarching agenda to be a ‘future ready’ university.

“The truth is that if Africa is going to change, it must start from the mind.

“According to Achille Mbembe (2016)’We cannot keep teaching the way we have always taught. A number of our institutions are teaching obsolete forms of knowledge with obsolete pedagogies.

“In order to set our institutions firmly on the path of future knowledges, we need to reinvent a classroom without walls in which we are all co-learners; a university that is capable of convening various publics in new forms of assemblies that become points of convergence of and platforms for the redistribution of different kinds of knowledge’

“It is therefore my firm belief that universities have both an educational and social function.

“Knowledge institutions have critical roles to play in convening evidence gathering across disciplines and dissemination across sectors, horizon scanning clarifying and defining boundaries for emerging technologies and new areas of inquiry,

“They must also raise awareness through teaching and advocacy, alongside stakeholders, policy makers and the public.

“ Universities are the place where a desired future can be imagined and our business today is to imagine a desired future for Africa and going beyond that, to establish the steps required to produce a new generation of African thinkers and doers that can take us to this desired future.,” she said.

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Also speaking, the Chairman, Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the conference, Prof. Grace Otinwa said that the aim of the event was to bring scholars and other stakeholders from universities, research institutions, government, industry, civil society, and international organizations to reflect on the pathways of reimagining the future of higher education institutions (HEIs) on the African continent.
According to her, the theme of the conference resonates deeply with the transformative journey envisioned for the continent.
“Navigating the complexities and challenges of the 21st century has made clear that the future of our countries, our region and indeed our world is tied to the quality of education we are able to provide as universities.
“Your role at this conference is to contribute uniquely and significantly to designing the pathways for that future.
“This conference offers a vital platform for us to engage in meaningful discussions, share groundbreaking research, and collaboratively explore innovative solutions that will shape the trajectory of higher education in Africa.

“The challenges we face are numerous and multifaceted but it is within these challenges that we find opportunities to redefine and elevate the quality of higher education we offer in our continent.

“But let us not only reimagine the future of higher education in Africa, let us commit ourselves to turning these visions into tangible realities that will uplift our societies.
“Given the huge intellectual, financial, and material resources invested in staging this 4th ARUA conference, I urge everyone to actively participate in all the working sessions and side events and while at it, leverage the opportunity to build lasting, academic, economic and social connections,” Otinwa stated.