From Knowledge to Justice: Reclaiming the Humanities in Africa's Tech Driven Future

Distinguished Vice Chancellor, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola,

The Dean, Faculty of Arts, Prof. Akanbi Mudasiru Ilupeju,

High Chief Tunde Fanimokun, our esteemed Chairman,

Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Special Guest of Honour,

Hon. Francis Shonubi, Chairman of the Planning Committee,

Members of the Faculty Board, alumni, distinguished scholars, students, ladies, and gentlemen

The Legacy of the Faculty                                                                                       A Foundation Built on Conviction

I am deeply honored to stand before this gathering at a time when the world is searching for light amidst darkness, when we are grappling with truth amid propaganda, and seeking meaning amidst the noise of modernity. This week, we celebrate sixty years of intellectual excellence, a diamond legacy of inquiry, six decades of mental and cognitive inquisition, creativity, and conscience. All these are embodied in the University of Lagos Faculty of Arts, the Home of Letters.

Sixty years ago, visionary minds carved this Faculty out of conviction. A conviction that education was not merely about the ability to secure employment, but about enlightenment, about humanizing our minds. These brilliant minds built not just a faculty within the walls of academia, but a sanctuary for ideas. Here, in this faculty, in this very institution, historians guarded and shaped memory, philosophers tested our morality, linguists nurtured the nation’s identity, and writers gave voice to the voiceless.

The very number one fundamental question we all must answer is this: How do you measure a nation’s progress? Is it by its GDP or by its humanities?

Have you tried shopping for a specific item online? Moments later, the computer begins to suggest similar items, and you start to wonder, 'This thing is predicting my behavior.' Or you are watching a video, and a moment later, you begin watching similar videos. Imagine the wizardry of the computer. Amazing

What does it mean to be educated in an age where machines now claim to think, and algorithms claim to know us better than we know ourselves? What does education mean at this age? If I were to ask you now, what is progress in the context of a country? A reasonable person might say, “Progress means putting people first above profit. Or education? A faculty of arts student might respond with conscience, to put conscience above convenience. So then, if progress is people before profit, and education is conscience before convenience, then the challenge before us is not technical but moral. It's not science or the use of complex, interconnected processes to produce unpredictable results, like you find in jet engines. No. it’s not that difficult. What we need is righteousness. Our challenge is ethics, what is honorable, noble, and just.

Since our challenge is not that complex, but doing the right thing, what must we do, right here, right now, to make that real?

We must begin to restore education to its original purpose, to build and cultivate good citizenship. The age of producing graduates only to get a job must stop. In addition to sharpening our intellect, we should begin to shape our conscience. Because a nation cannot innovate its way out of injustice, nor can we invent or automate our way out of inequality. True progress begins when knowledge learns to serve compassion.

Folks, if education is to remain human, it must teach us not just to know or learn to calculate, but it must also teach us how to care for one another. Not merely to innovate, but to imagine. For what use is intelligence if it cannot distinguish between progress and cruelty, or between wealth and worth?

Therefore, if we allow education to become a competition between smartness and conscience, cleverness divorced from conscience, then our civilization will advance in technology but will regress in humanity. The tragedy of Africa today is not ignorance, but knowledge without wisdom. You can be well educated, graduated from the prestigious Faculty of Arts of the University of Lagos, but having wisdom is crucial. The application of that knowledge involves your judgment, discerning your inner values, and your personal convictions.

The founders of this Faculty understood what too many policymakers still fail to grasp: that the soul of a nation is not measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) but by how deeply it values humanity.

So, when you think of progress, do you still think of the humanities as central to it, or as an afterthought?

Because I would argue, just as our dean beautifully stated in his public statement, “We need historians to provide context, philosophers to guide our ethics, writers to tell our stories, and artists to inspire our souls.” Those words are not sentimental; they are a necessity. Especially in this current social and political milieu that we find ourselves in.

The Importance of Humanities: Measuring the Soul of a Nation

Today, we live in a world where people are obsessed with data, speed, and automation. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can predict elections, mimic art, and write code. While these are promising and groundbreaking innovations, they cannot write our conscience. AI can replicate information and solve complex problems, but it cannot replace wisdom. Hear me when I say our humanity cannot be erased.

When computer programs decide who gets a job, a loan, or even who is surveilled, the humanities become more critical than ever. They help us think about right and wrong, fairness and justice, and make sure technology serves people, not the other way around. In today’s digital world, studies in the humanities aren’t a luxury but a necessity. Technology can fix problems, but only the humanities can make sure those solutions are fair, humane, and inclusive

As computers increasingly influence our moral decisions, the question becomes: who will teach the next generation to ask not only “Can we do this?” but also “Should we do this?”

I am reminded of a conversation I had years ago with a graduate of this very Faculty. She had studied Philosophy, but now she is self-employed, running a growing small business here in Lagos, where she deals with customers every day. She told me, “Dr. Obanor, my training in ethics is what helps me sleep well at night. I asked, “What do you mean?” She replied, "The transactions are simple and straightforward. The money comes and goes, but the choices I made behind them can change someone’s life."

That sentence struck me. It reminded me that the humanities are not confined to Afe Babalola Hall or any other lecture halls or libraries, but reside in the hearts of students, graduates, and the people who make decisions every day about truth, equity, and responsibility.

In the same vein, while preparing for my trip to this event, I spoke with an alumnus who studied Creative Arts in the 1990s and now mentors students in music technology. He said something profound: “Once, we spoke of freedom through the language of theatre, now we speak about the same freedom through sound and screens, but the struggle for justice remains unchanged.” Think about it. His statement captured the continuity of purpose between generations, how art and technology now meet on the same battlefield, fighting together in the struggle for justice and meaning.

These voices remind us that the humanities go beyond just abstract concepts; they represent the ethical principles we live by every day. Each alumna, professor, and student who courageously challenges authority with honesty and innovative thinking plays a vital role in upholding and nurturing our collective conscience. Through their actions and insights, they become guardians of our shared values, fostering a deeper understanding of the complexities of human experience and the moral responsibilities we have in society.

As we navigate this digital age, where algorithms often replace fair judgment and computer clicks supplant genuine compassion, our society must repeatedly look to the Faculty of Arts for guidance. Only those trained to ask, "Why should we?" can ensure that technology serves humanity, rather than the other way around.

That is why the theme of this anniversary is both timely and forward-looking. The humanities are not opposed to technology; instead, they guide it. They bring human values and real-life experiences into our progress, helping ensure that innovation does not outgrow our sense of right and wrong. The humanities remind us that even as we invent and explore new frontiers, compassion, fairness, and ethics must always lead the way.

The African Imperative

For Africa, this truth feels especially urgent. We are the youngest continent in the world, full of energy, ideas, and potential. Yet our education systems are often shaped by Western models that focus mainly on science, technology, engineering, and math, while neglecting the Arts. This imbalance risks silencing creativity and cultural expression, leaving much of our talent unseen and unused in a world that needs both innovation and imagination.

So, I ask you: Why do we continue to treat literature, philosophy, or history as nonessential? Why does Africa continue down this path? When, in actuality, the crises we face, whether it's corruption, tribalism, or inequality, are not technical challenges to be solved by mathematics or technology. Can you solve tribalism using a mathematical formula? Can we address the profound and unjust inequality that plagues our country through the use of machine learning and design?

Our problem today is not the absence of science, technology, or engineering. The problem we have today is that we have been divorced from our humanity. We have been separated from our conscience.

These folks represent deeply rooted moral and cultural dilemmas that demand our attention and reflection. 

When our leaders weaponize ethnicity instead of building a nation, that is not a shortage of data but a shortage of ethics. When young people migrate en masse because they no longer believe in justice at home, that is not a failure of computer coding but a failure of character. A breakdown of leadership and governance. Such a situation reveals a lack of commitment to ensuring equality, transparency, and accountability, which are essential for a thriving society.

It is within the realm of the humanities that we cultivate the essential values of empathy, critical thinking, and civic imagination, qualities that are indispensable for mending the deep fractures within nations, often torn apart by greed and pervasive cynicism. As Africa stands on the brink of an exhilarating digital future, we must embrace this transformation with both hands; one hand grasping the powerful tools of technology, while the other firmly holds the profound essence of humanity. In doing so, we can ensure that progress is not only measured by innovation but also by the depth of our compassion and understanding for one another.

This is what the humanities provide us. These disciplines give us empathy, critical thinking, and moral imagination. The virtues that are currently in scarcity today are what make a nation humane, not just developed.

University as a Moral Vanguard   

The University of Lagos Faculty of Arts has a sacred duty to lead this moral renaissance. It must remain, as the Dean said, a “crucible for critical thought” and a “sanctuary for creativity.”

This Faculty should not only produce graduates who can write or speak well, but also thinkers who can challenge falsehoods, who can question power, and help heal the divisions in our society. Our universities must once again become the moral compass of the nation, places that inspire new ideas and honest debate, rather than merely repeating what everyone already believes.

Now, let me turn this into a challenge for all of us:

What specific initiatives will the Faculty of Arts champion to keep the humanities alive in the digital age?

The recent N500 million Endowment Trust Fund launched for this anniversary is a commendable and strategic initiative, one that aims to enlighten not just the Faculty complex but also the minds of those who walk in these halls.

Here is the challenge: What if part of that endowment were allocated toward creating a Digital Humanities Innovation Hub (DHIH), a space where technology and the arts intersect, where both can work together, where coding meets storytelling, and where ethics and human values guide data? Imagine students learning not just how to build new tools, but how to ask the right questions about how those tools shape our world. Imagine artists working alongside scientists, and philosophers helping engineers think about justice, truth, and impact.

If the Faculty of Arts becomes that bridge between innovation and integrity, then this endowment will light far more than classrooms; it will light the minds and conscience of a new generation.

The Future: Merging Humanism and Innovation

With these two pillars (humanism and innovation), let us imagine an Africa where philosophy shapes technology policy, where history guides good governance, and where literature helps unite our people. Imagine that Africa is possible. We can build both pillars together.

Let us teach our computer coders to read Chinua Achebe. Let us teach our engineers to study ethics. Let us remind our entrepreneurs to understand the psychology of the society they serve. In that balance lies our true liberation from imported systems that exploit us, and from the self-inflicted ignorance that holds us back. The 21st century will not belong to those with the most machines, but to those who remember what it means to be human in a world ruled by machines. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the call of the humanities.

How do we integrate the lessons of the humanities into our rapidly evolving digital world? By making sure every innovation is tested against its moral cost, and asking not only “Can we?” but “Should we?” Because progress without compassion is not progress at all but regression.

The Role of Alumni in Shaping the Future

Now to the alumni: You are not just the legacy of this Faculty, you are its living, breathing curriculum. What role will you play in shaping the faculty’s next chapter? Will you mentor young scholars? Will you support research or help build digital platforms that promote creativity and the arts? Will you put action behind your words? The next generation will remember you not just for what you achieved, but for what you made possible. The true measure of an alumnus is not found in plaques or titles, but in the doors they open for others. This Faculty stands today because many before you chose not to walk away after graduation. They turned memory into mentorship and nostalgia into opportunity.

If these classrooms once shaped your mind, let your gratitude now shape someone else’s dream. Let your appreciation become support. Five hundred million is not too much for the great minds that have passed through these halls. Build fellowships, support departments, give your time, your knowledge, your name to the young people who now sit where you once sat, still searching for meaning beyond survival. That is how legacy becomes living history when those who once received become the givers.

A Call to Renewal

As we celebrate this milestone, we must also renew our commitment to the ongoing work of building our nation through knowledge, honesty, and creativity. The Faculty of Arts must continue to be the voice that questions power, the mirror that reflects truth, and the light that reveals what is hidden.

If science builds the engine of society, the humanities give it direction. Without moral guidance, even progress can become dangerous. So let UNILAG lead again, with courage, with compassion, and without apology. May this Faculty continue to produce not just graduates, but people who think deeply, speak truthfully, and act with conscience.

Conclusion

Sixty years is not only a time to look back with pride, but also a call to look forward with purpose. The Faculty of Arts at the University of Lagos has nurtured generations of thinkers who have helped shape this nation’s conscience and character.

As a new chapter begins, it must remind Africa, and indeed the world, that a society without the humanities is a civilization without a soul.

Happy 60th Anniversary to the Faculty of Arts. May your light continue to shine brightly.

Thank you.

Keynote Lecture delivered by Dr. LaBode Obanor at the 60th Anniversary of the Faculty of Arts, University of Lagos, Nigeria, October 25, 2025.