Don tasks varsities on research, publishing

AFRICAN universities have been urged to intensify research on indigenous academic writing and publishing as a way of showcasing the rich cultural heritage of the continent.

The suggestion, according to Dr. Jeleel Ojuade of the Department of Performing Arts, University of Ilorin, would equally preserve the oral histories of the Africans and make them compete favourably with any other histories in the world.

Speaking at the Second International Workshop on Academic Writing and Publishing at the University of Ilorin, Ojuade, however, warned that the desired results could only be obtained if African scholars collaborate with their colleagues from other continents of the world.

The programme was organised by the Department of Performing Arts of the University of Ilorin in collaboration with African Theatre and Performance, a working group of the International Federation for Theatre Research. It would be a week-long event drawing scholars from such countries as the University of Cape Town (Prof. Gay Morris), Tshwane University of Technology, Republic of South Africa, (Prof. Patrick Ebewo) and Humboldt Universitaet Zu Berlin (Prof. Joachim Fiebach).

Ojuade, who was the convener, said: “Until we learn to do things in African ways, we may continue to play a second fiddle to our counterparts in the rest of the world. Africans have very rich cultural essence but many scholars with the African blood always downgrade such essence while writing and publishing”.

According to Ojuade, a teacher of Theatre Arts, University of Ilorin, the benefits derivable from the conference include: engendering new and better research on the vast and relatively unexplored field of African theatre and performance, promoting exposure to and exchange of ideas with young and emerging academics from many parts of Africa, and empowering of Africa-based academics by supplying them with the ability to compete more successfully for publication in international journals and an opportunity of exchanging ideas with scholars and researchers from the wider international academic community.

Opening the event, the Vice Chancellor, University of Ilorin, Prof. Ishiaq Oloyede, urged the participants to put into practice the lessons at the seminar for the general advantage of humanity.