https://en.sputniknews.africa/20250818/stop-being-cognitively-domesticated-african-scholar-calls-for-knowledge-built-on-local-realities-1077145190.html
‘Stop Being Cognitively Domesticated’: African Scholar Calls for Knowledge Built on Local Realities
‘Stop Being Cognitively Domesticated’: African Scholar Calls for Knowledge Built on Local Realities
Sputnik Africa
Across Africa, the call for intellectual sovereignty is taking on new urgency. As nations seek to chart their own futures, the struggle extends beyond politics... 18.08.2025, Sputnik Africa
2025-08-18T17:22+0200
2025-08-18T17:22+0200
2025-08-18T17:22+0200
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‘Stop Being Cognitively Domesticated’: African Scholar Calls for Knowledge Built on Local Realities
Sputnik Africa
Across Africa, the call for intellectual sovereignty is taking on new urgency. As nations seek to chart their own futures, the struggle extends beyond politics and economics into the realm of knowledge itself. At stake is who decides what counts as legitimate scholarship and whether African realities shape African thought.
The persistence of colonial frameworks in education and research continues to structure the foundations of African intellectual life. Even as universities expand, and more students fill lecture halls, much of the content, methods, and systems of validation remain tethered to Eurocentric models. For many African thinkers, reclaiming intellectual sovereignty means reshaping curricula, research priorities, and measures of knowledge to reflect African histories, cultures, and lived experiences.In her discussion with Global South Pole, Ugandan peace building expert Joanna Nakabiito stressed that Africa’s intellectual struggle remains unfinished because knowledge systems are still policed by external standards. She argued that African scholarship must reclaim legitimacy on its own terms, free from Eurocentric validation.Nakabiito sees hope in African-led think tanks, AU-funded research programs, and a new generation of scholars who speak “two languages” — one rooted in African realities, the other fluent in global dialogue. She calls for governments to trust African professors to design curricula, invest in homegrown journals, and measure progress with tools that fit African contexts. The goal isn’t isolation, but balance: systems that are locally grounded yet globally conversant. As Nakabiito puts it, Africa must “stop chasing a seat at someone else’s table, and start building our own.”To listen to the whole discussion, tune in to the Global South Pole podcast, brought to you by Sputnik Africa.In addition to the website, you can also catch our episodes on Telegram.► You can also listen to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Deezer, Castbox, Pocket Casts, Afripods, Podcast Addict, Overcast, and Mave Stream.► Check out all the episodes of Global South Pole.
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podcasts, west, education, research, technology, digital technology , sovereignty, colonialism, neocolonialism, school, brics, uganda, africa, artificial intelligence (ai), аудио
‘Stop Being Cognitively Domesticated’: African Scholar Calls for Knowledge Built on Local Realities
Aliyu Bello
Correspondent, Podcast Host
Across Africa, the call for intellectual sovereignty is taking on new urgency. As nations seek to chart their own futures, the struggle extends beyond politics and economics into the realm of knowledge itself. At stake is who decides what counts as legitimate scholarship, and whether African realities shape African thought.
The persistence of colonial frameworks in education and research continues to structure the foundations of African intellectual life. Even as universities expand, and more students fill lecture halls, much of the content, methods, and systems of validation remain tethered to Eurocentric models. For many African thinkers, reclaiming intellectual sovereignty means reshaping curricula, research priorities, and measures of knowledge to reflect African histories, cultures, and lived experiences.
In her discussion with Global South Pole, Ugandan peace building expert Joanna Nakabiito stressed that Africa’s intellectual struggle remains unfinished because knowledge systems are still policed by external standards. She argued that African scholarship must reclaim legitimacy on its own terms, free from Eurocentric validation.
“The problem arises when we begin to believe that only the ideas spoken in English, published in Western journals, or framed within Euro-American theory are legitimate. I think need to define reality from within our worldviews and stop avoiding the development of methods that reflect African ways of knowing. We need to stop being cognitively domesticated by external standards of reason and credibility,” she stressed.
Nakabiito sees hope in African-led think tanks, AU-funded research programs, and a new generation of scholars who speak “two languages” — one rooted in African realities, the other fluent in global dialogue. She calls for governments to trust African professors to design curricula, invest in homegrown journals, and measure progress with tools that fit African contexts. The goal isn’t isolation, but balance: systems that are locally grounded yet globally conversant. As Nakabiito puts it, Africa must “stop chasing a seat at someone else’s table, and start building our own.”
To listen to the whole discussion, tune in to the Global South Pole podcast, brought to you by Sputnik Africa.
In addition to the website, you can also catch our episodes on
Telegram.► Check out all the episodes of Global South Pole. 
