Research for Sustainable Development in Sub-Saharan Africa in the 21st Century

Abstract

This paper posited that although the first Sub-Saharan African University was established in 1827, university research has yielded little significant result within the African space. A few reasons have been advanced to explain the situation. First, African universities have capacity to admit only 7% of qualified candidates. Secondly, Africa has not demanded solutions for its socio-economic challenges from African universities. Thirdly, African elites still hope that the operationalisation of the concept of globalisation will take care of the socio-economic development needs of Africa. The paper also identified the absence of additional pathways to education, unemployment and livelihood issues, an unorganised informal sector and a city life that is unresponsive to citizens’ efforts towards survival as a few of the challenges currently bedevilling the ordinary African person. These challenges speak to what may be viewed as compelling research agendas that promise to positively impact the development of Sub-Saharan Africa. The solutions that would most suitably address these concerns need to be derived from the wealth of knowledge (both traditional and modern) that can be adapted to the specific social, economic, environmental and psychological conditions of Africa.

Key Words: Research agenda, Universities, unorganised informal sector, livelihoods, sustainable development