Is Africa Asleep? Pan-African Parliament President Challenges the Conscience of African Universities

‘Why is it that we are content with issues such as drought, lack of food, challenges in the health sector? Why does the academia preach about how Africa has unexplored potential? Yet that same academia does not come up with solutions that are facing the African continent? What are our Research and Innovation Departments doing? ‘

These are some of the reflective questions that the African Union, (AU) President of the Pan-African Parliament, H.E. Fortune Charumbira asked while he delivered his talk at the University of Nairobi on Wednesday, January 28, 2026.

Africa has a youth bulge, Africa is a young continent and yet Africa imports food, Africa does not have a repository of its research solutions, Africa is not in control of its data.

‘Why does Africa still teach using the English language?’

H.E. Charumbira opined that education in Africa is to blame for lack of Innovations in the continent, colonization and lack of confidence in our identity.

‘Africans are not proud of who they are; we are busy copying the west, bleaching to change our skin colour, importing second hand clothes, importing food, but not copying how the west are innovating solutions for  their challenges.’

Drawing comparisons with countries such as Germany and innovation hubs like Dubai, Hon. Charumbira noted that meaningful technological and economic transformation  comes from prioritisation, discipline, and locally grounded research. 

Directing his strongest critique at Academic Institutions, Hon. Charumbira challenged Universities to move beyond theory and donor funded projects towards solution oriented research, innovation and product development. He urged Universities to align research with National and continental priorities including Agenda 2063, and to recalibrate the curricula to meet the demands of the digital economy, data science, and interdisciplinary problem solving.  he asked, urging scholars to interrogate the very purpose of academia "why faculties exist, who they serve and what outcomes they produce"

Hon. Charumbira challenged the notion that lack of democracy in Africa is the cause of the challenges facing the continent, ‘Democracy is not a panacea of everything.’ he said arguing that while governance systems matter, they must be accompanied by strong institutions, innovation and self driven development strategies. 

Just before the Public Lecture, the President of the AU Pan-African Parliament officially launched the African Universities Network on Fair and Open Science, aimed at promoting Africa based knowledge systems rooted in the continents own heritage.  The UoN is a founding member of the network and the President is the patron.

Prof. Mirjam van Reisen, Tilburg University, opened the session highlighting the crucial role that the network will play. ‘We are curating what is the most important resource. Data is the new gold. The network will collaborate on Fair and Open science. African researchers should be able to access data on the continent and re-use the data.

Present during the Lecture was, Hon. Danson Buya Mungatana the Senator of Tana River County, Rev. Prof. Patrick Mwania, Vice Chancellor, Tangaza University, Professor Mouhamud Mpezamihigo, Vice Chancellor of Equator University of Science and Technology, Masaka Uganda East Africa, Prof. Mirijam van Reisen, International relations, innovation and care, Tilburg University and University of Leiden.