The 'African' University's Innovative Self-renewal

Prof. Michael P. K. Okyerefo

The ‘university’ as a concept and institution in Africa is perhaps the oldest in the world. It certainly predates the European university, which was imported into Africa only at the dawn of the 19th century as part of the colonial project. This European model of the university has, however, almost obliterated the African University that precedes colonialism. Consequently, the fact that Africa had universities prior to colonialism that served as colossal cradles of knowledge production is hardly known, let alone celebrated today in mainstream conversations on the academy. Revisiting the university as an African idea and reality can enhance the contemporary European model in operation on the continent. This study makes an important contribution to the debate on how the African University can facilitate an African emancipatory imagination by examining the character and values of the authentic, historic African University enterprise and what prospects the resulting discoveries have in strengthening the contemporary African University. The goal is to emphasise the fact that the university is not foreign to Africa and rediscover how it speaks to the African situation.