Prof. P.L.O. Lumumba. Image Credit: UEW Facebook page.
Renowned Kenyan lawyer, Pan-Africanist, and thought leader, Prof. P.L.O. Lumumba, has strongly criticized the long-standing colonial mentality of measuring intelligence based on fluency in foreign languages while sidelining local ones. Speaking at the 2025 Public Lecture Series organized by the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), Prof. Lumumba called for a radical rethinking of how African societies define knowledge, education, and intelligence.
Addressing 2,500 packed Jophus Anamoah Mensah auditorium of academics, lecturers, nananom, politicians, media, students, and cultural enthusiasts, Prof. Lumumba delivered a powerful message about the need to decolonize African minds and educational systems. He emphasized that it is “nonsense” to equate intelligence solely with the ability to speak and write in foreign languages such as English, French, or Portuguese, while indigenous languages are looked down upon or even actively discouraged.
“Education has been corrupted – feeding us the lie that speaking in our local dialects makes us unintelligent. It’s nonsense.”
Prof. Lumumba stressed that African languages are not inferior nor are they barriers to knowledge and development. Rather, they are powerful tools of identity, philosophy, science, and culture. He argued that the failure to recognize the intellectual depth within our own languages has led many Africans to become strangers to their roots, and prisoners to foreign systems of thinking.
He further criticized educational systems across Africa for rewarding students who memorize foreign expressions and penalizing those who try to express themselves in their mother tongues. According to him, this has created an imbalance where knowledge is equated with linguistic mimicry in foreign languages, and true critical thinking is often overlooked.
Prof. P.L.O. Lumumba further criticized African countries for their continued failure to use African languages as primary mediums of instruction in education, despite decades of independence. He expressed disappointment that many African nations still rely heavily on colonial languages like English, French, and Portuguese, while other non-African countries have successfully built strong educational systems in their native tongues.
“We live in a world where we are so mentally fractured that some of you proudly say, ‘My daughter can no longer speak Twi.’ This is nothing but the result of complete colonial conquest. We cannot enter the 21st century with this mindset.
Go to the Scandinavian countries we dare to compare ourselves with: in Denmark, they teach in Danish; in Norway, they teach in Norwegian; in Sweden, they teach in Swedish; in Finland, they teach in Finnish. Go to Korea, they teach in Korean. Go to China, they teach in Chinese. Go to Japan, they teach in Japanese.”
Prof. Lumumba’s remarks come at a time when there is growing conversation in academic and political circles about the preservation, promotion, and integration of African languages into formal education, media, and technology. He concluded by urging African scholars and institutions, like UEW, to lead the way in promoting linguistic justice and redefining intelligence beyond colonial legacies.
The 2025 Public Lecture Series organized by the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) was held under the inspiring theme, “Empowering Minds, Shaping Futures for 21st Century Education.” The event brought together influential voices in academia, governance, and Pan-African advocacy. It was hosted by the Vice-Chancellor of UEW, Prof. Stephen Jobson Mitchual, with Hon. Haruna Iddrisu serving as Guest of Honour, Mr. Edmond Moukala as Chairman, and Dr. Samuel Koranteng-Pipim as the distinguished Speaker. The lecture series served as a powerful platform for challenging outdated ideologies and reimagining the future of African education through the lens of cultural pride, language empowerment, and intellectual liberation.
Editor: Ama Gyesiwaa Quansah
