Reclaiming Ancestral Intelligence: Africa must embrace plural knowledge for development - Prof. Falola
By: Novire Kuuyizie Francis
A renowned scholar of African History and African Studies at the University of Texas, Austin, Professor Toyin Falola has challenged conventional narratives on technology and development, arguing for the recognition of Africa's rich ancestral intelligence as superior to the current rush of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Delivering his address during a public lecture on the theme “Ancestral Science and Technology for Modern Development,” as part of the 20th anniversary of the KNUST School of Business, Prof. Falola acknowledged the never-ending evolution of technology and its distractions.
While recognizing AI's transformative potential, he shared that AI is not alien to Africa, Ancestral Intelligence, which according to him, is far greater, long existed before the advent of Artificial Intelligence.
He urged the audience to look beyond the hype surrounding new technologies to the deep, often excluded, abundant source of knowledge within African history.
Epistemic Injustice and the Erasure of African Achievement
A core pillar of Prof. Falola's argument centred on epistemic exclusion – the systematic erasure of certain peoples' knowledge and contributions. He criticized historical definitions of Africa that portrayed it as a continent "without history, without technology (denying its Bronze Age, Iron Age), without governance, and perpetually on the brink of anarchy or cannibalism."
"Definitions reflect the thinking of a people and are a form of conquest," Prof. Falola stated. "By defining Africa in terms of absence, colonial and post-colonial narratives erased the existence of sophisticated African science, community systems, medicinal practices, and food technologies. This alone compels societies to resent their own ideas and think differently about their capabilities."
Ancestral Intelligence: The Foundation for a Plural Future
The renowned scholar traced Africa's long legacy of science and technology, surrounding complex community governance, advanced metallurgy, sustainable agricultural practices, and sophisticated medicinal knowledge derived from indigenous plants and foods.
This, according to him, constitutes a vast reservoir of "Ancestral Intelligence" critical for sustainable modern development, and called for a decisive shift towards a plural knowledge economy and plural knowledge system.
"We must pay urgent attention to epistemic injustice," Prof. Falola emphasized. "Respecting the continuity of the past is not about nostalgia; it's about recognizing valid, effective knowledge systems that have sustained societies for millennia."
The Path Forward: Fusing Locality and Globalism
For Africa to thrive in the modern technological landscape, Professor Toyin Falola suggested that authentic African development must be rooted in its unique contexts, cultures, and historical knowledge, noting the global success of Afrobeat as an example.
"Without localism, Afrobeat would not be successful,” he said, urging that new academic degrees that explore the intersection of culture and technology should be introduced.
He further encouraged that Africa must be strategic in its engagement with the globe, explaining that the local foundation must be intelligently fused with global technological advancements.
"We must fuse locality with globalism to create a unique synthesis; we don’t have to simply import external models" he said.