A Call to Reclaim African Heritage
At an annual lecture in Accra honoring the legacy of "Zik of Africa," Nigerian scholar Ogochukwu Chidiebere Nweke urged African youth to reclaim their heritage and dismantle historical narratives imposed on the continent, as reported by Business Post Nigeria and Nigerian Voice. Speaking in the homeland of Kwame Nkrumah, Nweke described the setting as a symbolic backdrop for a message centered on unity, shared history, and African self-determination.
Nweke critiqued five centuries of Eurocentric historical framing that he argued treated Africa as a passive object rather than an active subject of its own destiny. To counter these narratives, he highlighted pre-colonial achievements, including the wealth of the ancient Mali Empire, the architecture of Great Zimbabwe, the manuscripts of Timbuktu, and the Benin Bronzes.
Referencing the proverb that "until the lion learns to write, every tale will glorify the hunter," Nweke challenged the long-standing distortions in African history, according to both outlets. He stated, as quoted by the sources: "I do not recite this history to make us nostalgic. Nostalgia is a poor foundation for a nation. I recite it because a people who do not know that they were once great will never dare to believe that they can be great again."
Continental Ties and Historical Solidarity
The lecture, which Nigerian Voice reported was attended by Chairman of the Central Planning Committee Abbas Umar Masanawa, Director General Chineme Onyeke, and members of the diplomatic corps, also delved into the relationship between Nigeria and Ghana. Nweke, described by Nigerian Voice as a Nigerian academic and mentor who built his life, work, and family in Ghana, emphasized the border-transcending connection between the two nations.
Nigerian Voice's detailed account of the speech traced the historical bonds between Nnamdi Azikiwe and Kwame Nkrumah, noting that both attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and that Azikiwe mentored Nkrumah in the Gold Coast. It also referenced the 1945 gathering in Manchester that included Nkrumah, Jomo Kenyatta, and W. E. B. Du Bois, where they resolved that the age of empire must end, as well as Nkrumah's 1957 declaration that Ghana's independence was meaningless unless linked to the total liberation of Africa. The founding of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963 was also cited.
Nweke noted that the lecture hall was named after the British Council, which Nigerian Voice reported he described as symbolizing the reclaiming of spaces of empire.
The State of Africa Today
The speech painted a picture of a youthful continent, with Nigerian Voice reporting that Africa has over 1.4 billion people and that by mid-century one in every four humans alive will be African. Nweke also highlighted economic challenges, citing UN statistics that Africa loses close to $89 billion annually to illicit financial flows, nearly 4% of the continent's GDP. Countries losing heavily, he said, spend a quarter less on health and over half less on education.
On integration, the lecture pointed to the African Continental Free Trade Area, headquartered in Accra, with 54 member states, a market of about 1.3 billion people, and a combined output of about $3.4 trillion, operational since January 1, 2021. Nweke also mentioned the Pan-African payments system that allows trade in local currencies. He discussed ECOWAS, founded in 1975 and headquartered in Abuja, noting that in January 2025 Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger formally left to form the Alliance of Sahel States. The Sahel, he said, accounts for more than half of the world's deaths from terrorism.
Nigeria's Challenges and Prospects
Turning to Nigeria, Nweke noted the country's population of over 230 million and more than 250 ethnic groups, as well as its joining of BRICS in January 2024. He addressed the "Japa" phenomenon of mass youth emigration and referenced the October 2020 protests against police brutality, after which Nigerian youth achieved success in fintech, Nollywood, and Afrobeats. Diaspora remittances, he said, exceed foreign aid, and he pointed to a large single-train oil refinery on the edge of Lagos financed by Africans.
Nweke outlined what Nigerian Voice called "four foundations for a new Nigeria": unity, accountability, transparency, and the death of greed. The lecture concluded with a charge to the younger generation, whom he identified as pivotal leaders in whose hands "the morning after tomorrow is already being written."