Scholars push for Pan-African Intellectualism to fight neocolonialism

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Scholars from various universities in Uganda and Africa have called for Pan-African intellectualism to combat neocolonialism tendencies among African people.

The call was sounded during the ongoing 8th Inter University Symposium on Pan Africanism and Reparatory Justice at Makerere University. The five-day symposium that started on Thursday, May 21, 2026, will run up to Monday, May 25, 2026.

Scholars believe that it is time for African people to decolonise their minds and develop indigenous knowledge that can help to solve African problems without relying on foreign influence from former colonial masters.

The symposium is organised under the theme, ‘Pan African Intellectualism: The Urgency to Defend the Dignity and Future of the African People’.

‘Think like Africans’

Prof. George Godfrey Okiror from the department of political science and public administration at Makerere University, said though Pan-Africanism has resulted in liberation movements, political Independence of African countries and the Organisation of African Union (1963) among other things, the struggle is not yet done.

He has challenged African people to unite as black people, decolonise their minds and begin to think like Africans.

However, he noted that it was still a far-fetched dream to achieve African unity because of the indifference among Africans, which has resulted in poverty.

In order to have lasting unity in Africa, Prof. Robert Ojambo, the head of the department of history and archaeology at Kyambogo University, reasons that there is a need to value traditional leadership, such as clan leaders.

He notes that they're the community bedrock for every society and help to create consensus, adding that many programs fail in Africa because of a lack of consensus, emphasising the need for clan leaders in helping to reach a consensus.

Prof. Ojambo argues that Africans have the capacity to heal all diseases by using indigenous knowledge. However, he notes that it might be hard to achieve due to the growing number of masqueraders on the African continent.

“For Africa to achieve African unity, there is a need to restore Africa’s best cultural practices, promote African identity and also develop indigenous knowledge that solves African problems,” he said.

Dr Shadat Mutyaba Semakula, a lawyer and the former dean of the faculty of law at Gulu University, believes that African countries can do away with neocolonialism if African regional orchestrators agree to share knowledge and learn from each other, on top of promoting collaboration among African universities.

Students weigh in on achieving African unity

Grace Mary Ampaire, the secretary of female affairs at the Uganda Students Association (UNSA), called on fellow students and the youth to champion any initiatives aimed at achieving African Unity.

She implored fellow students to engage actively in activities such as agriculture that will bring about development on the African continent if fully embraced.

Anslem Mwidhu Makiika, the 36th secretary for International affairs at UNSA, said that to achieve African unity, there is a need to develop policies that align with the African development agenda.

He urged African leaders to embrace leadership which was brought by African liberation leaders like the late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere.

Winfred Kisakye, a representative of all Universities in Uganda at the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE), believes that the future of Africa depends on unity.

Kennedy Amanya, who represents students living with disabilities on Makerere University Students' Association, called upon fellow students to come on board to defend the dignity and future of Africans.