The Western Academic Abroad: An African Response

Extract

The setting was comfortable, and the social atmosphere relaxed. By all measures, he was a distinguished colleague. He had received a good degree from a Western university; he was respected in his own country (Nigeria); he belonged to those citizens who are often referred to as “our leaders of thought”; he had published widely; and he had been asked to speak at many professional meetings in both the Western and non-Western world. By local standards he was well paid, and his home and his family revealed all the features of his “elite” status. As a visiting researcher I had gone to see him to exchange views, to learn about the state of affairs in the country. He was polite, he was helpful; we joked about this and that, exchanged memories of events which had taken place at this or that conference. Academic chit-chat blended with that kind of casual conversation which makes life pleasant.