Aspirations of an Afrocentric Science

Rhodes Chemistry Society was proud to host this year’s Barker lecture which was delivered by world renowned Chemist Professor Berhanu Abegaz from the University of Botswana. The talk, entitled “Africa’s Contributions to Science and Higher Education - Insignificant or Unrealised?” advocated a contextual approach to science and education, with greater emphasis on the relevance and precision of material taught.

A celebrated educator and leading thinker in his field, Prof Abegaz holds innumerable prestigious positions within the world of Science. He is the director of International Partnerships at the University of Botswana’s Centre for Scientific Research, Indiginous Knowledge and Innovation as well as the current Vice-President of UNESCO’s Science Board.

Education today is fraught with Eurocentric views and biases, a point which Prof Abegaz emphasised highlighting several stunning historical examples: The so called “Dark Ages” were in fact a time of great scientific advancement and flourishing education in Africa; to this day many school textbooks state that Livingstone discovered Lake Victoria; the famous Pascal Triangle was discovered (and published) by Ibn Munim - an African - 200 years before Pascal. These examples highlight the startling degree to which Eurocentric education has become normalised, as well as the need to study and critically reflect from an African perspective. 

On the subject of Africa’s contribution to overall scientific research and writing he noted that our role is neither insignificant nor unrealised. A thought-provoking paradox was drawn between Africa’s vast size compared to other landmasses and its seemingly miniscule output of research next to the colossi of Northern Hemisphere science.

We would do well, however, to take into account factors such as availability of scientific resources and the ever-prevalent ‘brain drain’. Africa has certainly had its share of innovators such as Charles Wambebe and his group from Nigeria who developed the anti-sickling phytomedicine Nicosan which is patented in 45 countries.

Many of the first modern institutions of higher education to emerge on the continent held great promise of upliftment for the people but failed to some extent in that they were simply replicas of well-established universities in North America and Europe. Most modern African universities neglected to incorporate indigenous knowledge and culture into their syllabi.

The professor’s profound discourse advocated the vital importance of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) and their integration into the formal education system. This does not merely refer to tourist souvenirs and traditional dancing, but rather to the highly ancient and sophisticated technologies which have proven their unending validity and relevance by enduring so many decades of academic neglect.

Another worrying trend which Prof Abegaz exposed is that scholarly collaboration in Africa is primarily between Africa and Europe or the USA rather than between fellow African nations. As coordinator of the Network for Analytican and Bioassay Services in Africa (NABSA) he has challenged this trend by developing a successful model for intra-African collaboration in the chemical sciences where equipment and resources are shared via an ongoing exchange of samples and raw data.