In August 2016 the Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa program partnered with the United States International University— Africa in Nairobi, Kenya to convene the 2016-2017 cohort of fellows and give support to their research and writing. Tade Aina, a distinguished scholar and Executive Director of Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR), spoke to fellows on the importance of excellence in African universities and scholarship. He urged fellows to abandon the narrative of crisis in African higher education, a legacy of the 1980s, and instead take up the contemporary challenge of creating world-class centers for research and teaching.

Below is an audio file of Tade Aina’s lecture as presented at the Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa Workshop in Nairobi: