Jeyifo @80: WSCIJ Questions The Price Of Decolonial Truth
Marking a Milestone, Reopening a Debate
Honouring a Scholar at the Centre of Decolonial Thought
AS debates around decolonisation intensify across universities, media spaces, and political institutions worldwide, the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) is convening a high-level intellectual symposium to honour one of Africa’s most influential scholars, Professor Biodun Jeyifo, as he turns 80. Scheduled for Monday 5 January 2026, at the AGIP Recital Hall, MUSON Centre, Lagos, the event positions Jeyifo’s life work within the urgent global interrogation of knowledge systems shaped by colonial legacies.
Decolonisation as Intellectual Practice, Not Slogan
The symposium’s theme, “Who Is Afraid of Decolonisation?”, reflects a critical interrogation of resistance to curriculum reform, cultural autonomy, and epistemic justice. For decades, Jeyifo’s scholarship has challenged the dominance of Eurocentric frameworks in African education, insisting that intellectual freedom is inseparable from political and cultural self-determination. The event will examine how these ideas resonate today amid renewed culture wars over history, identity, and power.
Global Voices, Local Context
Delivering the keynote lecture is Professor Priya Gopal of the University of Cambridge, whose address—“Who’s Afraid of Decolonisation? Reflections on Particular Pasts and Planetary Futures”—will situate African decolonial struggles within a global context. The symposium will be chaired by Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi, a veteran cultural administrator and intellectual, underscoring the intersection of scholarship, publishing, and public culture.
Panels That Bridge Generations
Two panel sessions will deepen the conversation. The first brings together leading thinkers including Jibrin Ibrahim, Chidi Amuta, and Akin Adesokan to critically respond to the keynote, while the second panel foregrounds Jeyifo’s pedagogical legacy through reflections by former students and mentees. Their testimonies will explore how Jeyifo’s influence extends beyond texts into institution-building and activist scholarship.
A Living Intellectual Legacy
The symposium’s highlight will be remarks by Jeyifo himself, reflecting on curriculum, revolution, and society across generations. By convening scholars, journalists, students, and cultural critics, the event underscores that Jeyifo’s work is not merely historical, but central to contemporary struggles over knowledge, power, and freedom in Africa and beyond.
