Reviving indigenous knowledge system, crucial to Africa’s future — ACCE

The African Council for Communication Education (ACCE) Nigeria, on Thursday in Calabar, asserted that reviving Africa’s indigenous knowledge system was crucial to its development, growth, and future.

Abdullahi Bashir, the President of ACCE, made the remark at the council’s 2025 National Conference themed, “Communication and Indigenous Knowledge System in the Era of AI, Big Data and Cultural Transformation.”

Bashir said, ‘’in an era of global technological advancement and occurrences such as the advent of social media, climate change, economic and political crisis, Africa must strengthen its indigenous knowledge system to serve it well.

“The theme of this year’s conference was carefully chosen to underscore and reflect the value of African indigenous knowledge system which we inherited from our forefathers and which we often disregard.

“African communication scholarship and practice are largely interpreted in theories in an asymmetrical manner rather than a symmetrical relationship, despite the richness of the various African cultures,” he said.

The professor, however, noted that although, indigenous knowledge system in Africa was still in a marginal state, in recent years, it was experiencing a renaissance in the light of global technological development.

He also used the opportunity to call on government and unions to adopt indigenous negotiation approaches in resolving industrial disputes in the education sector.

Declaring the conference open, Gov. Bassey Otu of Cross River noted that effective governance thrived in an environment of effective communication.

Represented by his Commissioner for Education, Sen. Stephen Odey, Otu appealed for the conference proceedings to be made available to the State Ministry of Education for studying and inclusion in the curriculum.

He also used the opportunity to unveil and launch the 2025 edition of the council’s journal.

Similarly, Prof. Florence Obi, Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar (UniCal) said the conference was important in an era when Africans were witnessing a cultural eclipse.

Obi, who was represented by Prof. Tony Inyang, UniCal’s Deputy Vice Chancellor (DVC) Academics, said it was time for Africa to leverage on technology to give expression to its culture and heritage.

“Communication is just too important in galvanising a shared opinion and a collective vision for Africa, and for every society that has the intention of moving forward,” she maintained.