THE TOYIN FALOLA @70 CONFERENCE
THEME: POST COLONIAL AFRICA: Historical and Contemporary Realities.
Venue: Center for International Language and Culture Center, Kenyatta University.
The much-anticipated Toyin Falola @70 conference at Kenyatta University International Language and Culture Centre finally happened, it was an event attended by Professors, Doctorates, Pan-Africanists, Scholars, Researchers, and Students from different universities across the globe both virtually and physically. The theme of the event was ‘Post-colonial Africa: Historical and Contemporary Realities.’ The event was a success, although the main officiator of the event Prof. Toyin Falola, was virtually present due to health issues. This was an opportunity and intellectual space to interact and network. The topics ranged from History, Geography, Political themes, and Philosophy categories where over 150 abstracts were reviewed by the committee which upheld only 60 full papers on diverse disciplines to be presented, according to Dr. Peter Wekesa, the conference organizing committee Kenyatta University. Financiers of the event present were: Kenyatta University, British Institute in Eastern Africa (BIEA) and the University of Texas (USA).
The Chairman Department of History, Archaeology and Political Studies, Dr. Edwin Gimode, applauded all participants, the local organizing committee, Kenyatta University Vice Chancellor Prof. Paul K.Wainaina, and University management for adequate cooperation, especially during alike forums. He added that Toyin Falola has become a steady friend of the Kenyatta University history department and that on 17th March, 2022 he lectured a topic titled ‘Decolonizing African Studies’ to the students at the University and also brought 40 textbooks from the University of Texas.
The Executive, Dean School of Law, Arts and Social Sciences was delighted to be the core organizer of the conference. He appreciated Prof. Toyin Falola for having a party in the form of a conference presentation.
Prof. Waceke Wanjohi, DVC Academics, also in attendance, thanked the Dean and Chairman of the History Department for organizing such an educative and enlightening forum. She said that ‘The African continent faces many challenges even after post-colonization era and all scholars should step up, play respective roles without fear, intimidation and believe strongly that we can actually bring the change that is required’.
Prof. Godfrey Mse, DVC Administration and Finance, who represented Kenyatta University Vice Chancellor Prof. Paul K. Wainaina read a speech observing that the conference brought the attendees together to consider the colonial era's irrevocable impact on human contemporary history and its lasting effects. He added that, despite the fact that Africa has been independent for more than 50 years, for the most part, we are still living in a colonial world. The subject of African Regency in the world, which has drawn the attention of Pan-Africanists and African intellectuals for decades, is central to this entrapment and was first stated in the form of Decolonization. Kenyatta University is pleased to host this enduring conversation. He said that the purpose of the conference was to honour Prof. Toyin Falola, one of the great African minds responsible for rewriting African history, as well as to celebrate African arts, values, and culture. The conference was not just intended to reflect on our hardships, differences, and challenges, he expounded. Sequentially, he expressed gratitude and awe at the collaboration between the British Institute of East Africa, the University of Texas at Austin, and Kenyatta University, whose efforts made the conference possible.
Who is Toyin Falola?
Toyin Omoyeni Falola (born January 1, 1953) is a Nigerian historian and professor of African Studies. Falola has held the office of President of the African Studies Association and is a Fellow of the Historical Society of Nigeria and the Nigerian Academy of Letters. At the University of Texas at Austin, he holds the Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities.
In 1970, Falola started his academic career as a teacher in Pahayi, Ogun State. By 1981, he had advanced to the position of lecturer at the University of Ife. In addition to his 1991 appointment to the University of Texas at Austin faculty, he has also held temporary teaching positions at York University in Canada, Smith College in Massachusetts, The Australian National University in Canberra, Australia, and the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs in Lagos, Nigeria.
Falola's research, which is rooted in the Ibadan School's heritage, mostly focuses on African history since the 19th century. His interests span the continents of Africa, Latin America, and the United States, as well as the thematic areas such as Atlantic history, diaspora and migration, empire and globalization, intellectual history, international relations, religion, and culture. More than a hundred volumes have been written or edited by Falola, who is also the general editor of the Cambria African Studies Series (Cambria Press).
Recent courses he has instructed include Introduction to Traditional Africa, an Interdisciplinary course on the peoples and Cultures of Africa, designed for students with a variety of backgrounds in African Studies, and Epistemologies of African/Black Studies, a course on the emergence and development of African/Black Studies, with a focus on pedagogy, methodology, and the historical development of scholarship in the field.
The conference sub-themes included; Decoloniality, and decolonization, as it intertwines with post-colonial studies, Internationalization in the African region – key factors for consideration should include Pan-Africanism as examined through the lens of its basis, the status quo, and possible ways forward, Post-colonial economy and the role of the nation-state in establishing independent regional control, Resource control as it affects neo-colonialistic affiliations and European hegemonic influence in Post-colonial Africa, Liberal ideological predispositions and the socio-philosophical future of the African Nation states – with considerations to the influence of the youth demography, Developmental politics in Post-colonial Africa, Gender dynamics and politics in Post-colonial Africa, Post-colonial Literature and the future of the arts in Africa, Migration, conflicts, and peace actions in post-colonial Africa, Regional collaboration and diplomatic politics in Post-Colonial Africa
