Young historians must resist the temptation to romanticise power and instead cultivate the courage to interrogate it, renowned historian Professor Toyin Falola declared on Monday in Jos, as he challenged a new generation of scholars to confront some of Africa’s most persistent political and social dilemmas.
Falola made the call while addressing graduands inducted into the Historical Society of Nigeria (HSN) at the University of Jos, during the inaugural induction ceremony organised by the Department of History and International Studies. The event, held under the chairmanship of the Acting President of HSN, marked a significant milestone for the department’s graduates as they were formally admitted into Nigeria’s foremost historical association.
Professor Falola is one of Africa’s most influential historians, a globally respected Africanist, and Professor of History at the University of Texas at Austin, with decades of scholarship that has shaped African historiography.
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Speaking to the inductees, Falola framed historical scholarship as an ethical vocation rather than a passive academic pursuit. “As a historian, you must inculcate the habit of fearlessness, the habit of speaking the truth or putting it on paper when it is comfortable and when it is not,” he said. Drawing parallels with earlier generations of African scholars, he added, “The pioneers of Afrocentric historiography openly resisted the distorted Eurocentric perceptions of Africa.”
Falola warned that the post-independence era has not entirely freed Africa from domination, insisting that historians must now redirect their critical gaze inward. “We are in the post-colonial era, although many of us firmly believe we are also in the neo-colonial era,” he said. “You are charged to be courageous enough to write on the present nature of nationalism, neo-colonialism, dictatorship, corruption, elite capture of national resources, and others.”
He cautioned that intellectual complacency poses a serious threat to the discipline. “You must channel the same fearlessness deployed against colonial propaganda against the current powers that be,” Falola said. “If your work romanticizes power instead of questioning it, you have failed your duty.”
Beyond courage, Falola stressed discipline as a defining attribute of serious historians. “Being a historian is almost synonymous with continuous learning and the perusal of academic materials, whether from archives, archaeology, linguistics, oral tradition, anthropology, or other fields,” he said. “A historian writes a lot and studies a lot more.”
He reminded the inductees that the global respect enjoyed by the Historical Society of Nigeria was earned through decades of intellectual rigour. “The discipline of the progenitors of the Historical Society of Nigeria and the contributors to the Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria has brought global respect to the organization and the platform,” he said. “It is your duty to continue on this path and help history occupy the foremost position in Nigerian Academia.”
Falola also urged scholars to embrace humility, noting the inherent limitations of historical sources. “The sources of history are mostly incomplete – they depend on one another to fill specific gaps,” he said. “Knowledge missing from the archives may be found in oral tradition. We must discard the toga of arrogance and acknowledge the gaps, contradictions, and limitations of our sources. No historian can ever tell the final story; there will always be new perspectives to assess and the latest information to evaluate.”
Placing historical work firmly within the public sphere, Falola reminded the audience that history carries social responsibility. “You owe a responsibility to the public,” he said, recalling that “the founders of HSN viewed history as an engine of nation-building.” He pointed to the association’s long-standing advocacy, noting that “for decades, they have pushed this narrative through conferences and policy engagements, which have yielded results like the restoration of the history discipline to Nigeria’s academic curriculum, securing a slot for historians to be represented at the 2014–2015 national conference, and several others.”
According to him, public engagement remains central to the historian’s duty. “You must write for the public, challenge misconceptions, and correct distortions with facts,” Falola said. “This is your duty as historians, mainly because the knowledge of history has been repressed for a long time in our country.”
However, he warned against allowing scholarship to be hijacked by bias. “In carrying out this duty, be careful to avoid ethnic, religious, and political bias – as historians, you must be unbiased,” he said. “When you embody these principles, HSN will remain relevant, your scholarship will inspire future generations, and History as a discipline will be restored to its rightful place in the Nigerian academic setting.”
Earlier in his address, Falola situated the induction within the broader legacy of the Historical Society of Nigeria. “You are being officially admitted to the Historical Society of Nigeria (HSN) – an academic institution founded in 1955 by great scholars, such as Kenneth Onwuka Dike and Abdullahi Smith, of which I am a proud member,” he said. He recalled that the society’s birth coincided with Nigeria’s struggle for political independence, “amid doubts about its intellectual freedom.”
He told the inductees that their admission came with ethical expectations. “Your induction into this great society requires you to inherit an ethic that is embedded in intellectual freedom, integrity, and responsibility to society,” Falola said.
Describing the purpose of his lecture, he added, “My speech today is to prepare your mind for the ethics you are about to inherit. At this point, you are no longer just students; you have become apprentices of truth in a society where distortion, manipulation, and amnesia all hold a dominant place.”
Falola urged the new members to uphold the culture of the association. “The founders of the Historical Society of Nigeria have shown that historical consciousness is like a compass that guides a nation forward,” he said. “As we welcome you into the society, my advice is to strive to maintain the association’s culture. You are charged to vigorously study the past with honesty, critically navigate the present, and make truthful and just contributions to the future of African intellectual freedom.”
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