by AKANI CHAUKE
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – A SOUTH African university is to honour a Nigerian-born academic for his contributions to global scholarship in history and African studies.
The North-West University will confer an honorary doctorate to Prof. Toyin Falola on May 9 at its Mafikeng Campus.
“This is not merely an academic gesture. It is recognition of a body of work that has deepened how we understand Africa’s place in the world,” said Prof Mpho Chaka, deputy dean for teaching and learning in the Faculty of Humanities.
“We are honouring Prof Falola because his scholarship continues to shift frameworks, challenge assumptions and train the next generation of African thinkers.”
Falola started out as a schoolteacher in Pahayi, Nigeria in 1970.
He joined the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) as a lecturer in 1981, after completing his PhD in history.
By 1991, he had been appointed to the Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities at the University of Texas at Austin.
His career spans teaching appointments at institutions such as the University of Cambridge, York University and the Australian National University.
He is a fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Letters, as well as the Historical Society of Nigeria, and holds honorary doctorates from 13 institutions globally.
With more than 200 authored or edited books and numerous academic papers, Falola is widely regarded as one of the most prolific scholars of African origin.
His work engages an array of topics, including African intellectual history, empire and globalisation, religion, migration and Diaspora studies.
In 2023, Falola donated 27 books to the Mahikeng Campus library, 12 of which he either authored or co-authored.
– CAJ News