Renowned Pan-Africanist, Professor Patrick Lumumba, has issued a powerful call for African nations to respect and adequately fund their universities, stating this is a non-negotiable prerequisite for the continent's development.
A Legacy of Unfulfilled Promises
Speaking as a guest lecturer during the University of Ilorin's 50th-anniversary celebrations, Lumumba reflected on Africa's history of broken commitments. He pointed to the 1980 Lagos Plan of Action, where leaders vowed to bolster education and intra-African trade, only for the plan to be abandoned.
He also cited the 1991 Abuja Declaration, a pledge by African nations to allocate 15% of their national budgets to health, a target that remains unmet decades later. "These unfulfilled promises illustrate the gap between aspiration and action on the continent," Lumumba stated.
Undervalued Academics and a Dependent Continent
The professor lamented the stark contrast in how Africa treats its intellectuals compared to its politicians. "Africa remains the only continent where academics are undervalued while politicians become multi-billionaires," he emphasised, declaring that this situation must change for progress to occur.
He further criticised the continent's persistent state of dependency, using Nigeria's food imports as a poignant example. Despite the lively cultural rivalry with Ghana over Jollof Rice, Lumumba noted that Nigeria still imports massive quantities of rice, beef, and poultry. "Today, Africa cannot feed itself. This must stop," he charged.
The Path Forward: Decolonised Education and Agricultural Revolution
Lumumba identified the solution to these challenges in a radically reformed, indigenous educational system. He charged Nigerian universities, including Unilorin, to focus on creating a new generation of problem-solvers. He expressed a vision for a time when "the minds of young Nigerians and the minds of young Africans will be decolonised."
According to him, the practical pathway to self-reliance is an agricultural revolution, driven by academia. He called for universities to lead practical engagement in areas like aquaculture, poultry farming, and sugarcane cultivation.
"I'm looking forward to the day when the engineers produced at the University of Ilorin will solve the problems of the continent of Africa," Lumumba said. He also looks forward to Unilorin producing agricultural graduates so that "when we talk of aquaculture in Nigeria... Africa will be able to feed itself."
He confirmed that Unilorin is already taking steps in this direction, pointing to its large-scale projects, including a 15,000-hectare area with Jatropha and Teak farms, as a positive shift from dependency to self-sufficiency.
