Episode 1

M. Sani Umar on Nigerian academia, scientism, and its alternatives

Published on: 13th December, 2021

Muhammad Sani Umar from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, joins David for this opening conversation. Professor Umar talks about his own life history; the tumultuous history of Nigerian academia, from colonialism through structural adjustment to today's growing influence of China; and the epistemological domination of scientism and some of its (African?) alternatives: symbolic, approximate, and religious thinking.

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About the Podcast

Africa Knows

Every other Monday, Africa Knows brings you conversations with African(ist) scholars and thinkers who talk about their own work, the decolonisation of the academy, and the knowledge revolution taking shape all over the African continent. We are a collaborative platform, with co-hosts calling in from different locations - go to africa-knows.captivate.fm for more details. Nigeria is our first port of call, but we aim to expand our reach over time. Interested in collaboration? Contact us at africaknowspodcast@gmail.com.

Music: Wholesome by Kevin MacLeod https://bit.ly/3sscIwc

About your hosts

Gaddafi Abubakar

I am an academic member of staff at Bayero University Kano, engaging in research, teaching and administration. My areas of interest include media history in Northern Nigeria, Kano emirate history and contemporary issues of Islam in Northern Nigeria. I am currently a PhD candidate at the ASCL, The Netherlands, working on Radio in Northern Nigeria: A History of Propaganda, 1944-1979. Also, over the years, I have documented a lot of primary sources including rare archival materials and media files on same and related topics.

Henry Mang

Henry Gyang Mang teaches Conflict and Military History at the Nigerian Army University, Biu, Borno State, Nigeria. He has a B.A in History from the University of Jos, an M.Sc. in African Studies from the University of Oxford, an M.A in Military History from the Nigerian Defence Academy Post-Graduate School, Kaduna, and also a PhD in Military History from the same Nigerian Defence Academy Post–Graduate School, Kaduna.

Phone: +2348066459532
Email: henry.mang@naub.edu.ng
mang.henry@gmail.com

David Ehrhardt

I am an associate professor of international development at Leiden University. As a political scientist/anthropologist, most of my research focuses on Nigeria and the role informal authorities and institutions in the country's governance. As a European Africanist, I'm always looking for better ways to talk and think and teach about Africa - and for me, the Africa Knows conversations are part of that process.