By: Tunde Olofintila
“Africa unite, we are going out of Babylon, and we are going to our fatherland. As it’s been said already, let it be done, we are the children of … the Higher Man (the Almighty God). So, Africa unites, cause the children wanna come home. How good and pleasant it will be before God and man, to see the unification of all Africans…” Robert Nesta Marley (Bob Marley)
In his 1978 album titled “Africa Unite”, the Reggae megastar, Robert Nesta Marley, better known as Bob Marley, sang about the need for the totality of Africans to unite to enable them to speak with one voice in global affairs and creäte a better future for its numerous citizens.
Deriving from the above, it would appear that the spirit of the departed Bob Marley was physically present at the recently concluded 16th General Conference of the Association of African Universities, AAU, at the Rabat, Morocco campus of the University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P), where far-reaching decisions were taken on how to re-engineer and move the continent’s universities to the next level and rank among the best in the world.
Rising from its 16th General Conference themed “Shaping the Future of Higher Education for Innovation and Sustainable Development in Africa,” which was attended by the Vice Chancellor of Afe Babalola University, ABUAD, Prof. Smaranda Olarinde, in her capacity as the Representative of on AAU Governing Board, over the weekend, the Association unanimously agreed to strengthen Pan-African collaboration by establishing shared infrastructures, enabling cross-border mobility, and fostering inter-university research networks.
The AAU also resolved to advance inclusive Higher Education by achieving a minimum of 15% enrolment of women, refugees, and persons with disabilities by 2030.
In its avowed determination to tackle the continent’s most pressing higher education challenges and opportunities such as demographic boom, research sovereignty, AI adoption, quality assurance and the inclusion of marginalized youth in higher education, the AAU put its feet down to reclaim Knowledge Sovereignty by scaling Diamond Open Access, DOA, and African Platform for Open Scholarship, APOS, to at least 20 institutions by 2026.
Other high points of the Association’s 12 plenary sessions and Stakeholders Dialogues include:
Embedding Digital and Artificial Intelligence, AI Literacy by making AI, creative and critical thinking core skills for students and staff in member universities,
Enhancing Quality and Research Systems by adopting the Good Review Management, GRMP, Standard, harmonizing QA systems via Harmonization of Quality Assurance and Accreditation, HAQAA, and professionalizing research management.
Empowering Youth Innovation by expanding incubators, venture funding, and experiential learning across Higher Education Institutions, HEIs, and
Institutionalizing and scaling African Centres of Excellence, ACE, by fully integrating ACE into national systems, sustaining funding, and leveraging them as regional mentors.
The AAU which opened its Conference with a resounding call for African universities to serve as “living laboratories” that will not only educate but also drive innovation, generate evidence for policy, and address Africa’s social and economic challenges, is also planning, in collaboration with the African Union, UNESCO, Mastercard Foundation, and development partners, to establish a monitoring task force to track adoption of these resolutions, support HEIs to align with CESA and TVET strategies and host a Pan-African Open Science & AI Summit in 2026 to showcase advancements.
While Prof. Hicham El Habti, President (Vice Chancellor) of UM6P, reminded participants that “African universities must transcend traditional roles, becoming engines of knowledge and innovation even as financial support contracts globally, collaboration and resilience are no longer optional—they are our lifelines.”, Prof. Olusola Oyewole, AAU Secretary-General, emphasized that “With the right partnerships, investments, and focus on skills, Africa’s universities can transform African youth dividend (projected at 2.5 billion by 2050) into the cornerstone of our socio-economic future.”
On his part, UNESCO’s Dr. Borhene Chakroun impressed it on African universities to be independent, international, interdisciplinary, and innovative as the foundation for Africa’s sustainable growth.
To reclaim African Scholarship, Prof. Reggie Raju of University of Cape Town counselled that “Without reclaiming our scholarship, Africa risks perpetual dependency on systems that exclude our voices and diminish our global impact.”
To achieve the goal of reclaiming African scholarship, AAU endorsed Diamond Open Access (DOA) and the African Platform for Open Scholarship (APOS) as game-changers for reducing prohibitive publishing fees, elevating African research visibility, and supporting indigenous languages.
On Youth Empowerment and Inclusion, Dr. Yeukai Mlambo stressed that “Innovation cannot happen without inclusion”, adding that “by intentionally engaging women, refugees, and persons with disabilities, we unlock Africa’s true potential.”
Oyewole concluded by saying that “This Conference is a call to action: to invest boldly, collaborate intentionally, and transform Africa’s universities into engines of innovation, equity, and resilience. The future of our youth, and our continent, depends on it.”
Olofintila is ABUAD’s Director, Corporate Affairs