By Stephen Asante
Accra, April 27, GNA – Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, Vice Chancellor, University of Ghana, says Africa’s continued dependence on external sources for research funding needs a paradigm shift.
“Funding shapes what questions are asked, which methods are prioritised, who owns data, who controls intellectual property, and ultimately whose knowledge counts,” she noted.
The linguistics professor summed up that: “This dependence has consequences. Even where collaborations are well intentioned, funding architecture often comes with predefined research priorities, asymmetries in agenda-setting, and imbalances in ownership and recognition.
The result is a system in which African scholars may participate actively in research yet remain peripheral in defining its direction and outcomes.”
Prof Appiah Amfo was delivering a paper titled, “Reclaiming Voice in the Global Order: Language, Gender and the African Academy”, at an inaugural lecture organised by the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS), in Accra.
The paper centred on three key themes, encompassing language as social action, voice as a site of power, politics of knowledge production about Africa.
It discussed voice, power and meaning from a linguistic perspective, knowledge and the politics of recognition, significance of multilingualism and sociolinguistics theories.
Other sub-titles included gender, language and regulation, funding, power and the political economy of voice.
Drawing on her decades of scholarship to push for stronger African leadership in global knowledge production and greater local investment in research, the Vice Chancellor noted that Africa ought to move from being a source of research data to shaping global ideas and narratives.
It was, therefore, imperative to address structural inequalities in academia, particularly those affecting women scholars, the GAAS Fellow stated.
The paper proposed deliberate efforts to strengthen research ecosystems, equitable partnerships and institutional capacity across the continent.
âIf voice is the authority to define problems, set agenda, and shape knowledge, then funding is one of the primary instruments through which that authority is exercised.
Where funding is externally controlled, voice is inevitably constrained. This is why institutional responses matter,â the Professor of Linguistics advised.
The University of Ghana, she said, had for several years maintained a research fund supported through internally generated resources.
More recently, the authorities also established a dedicated graduate research and innovation fund aimed at supporting graduate students in their research work, she disclosed.
The Vice Chancellor drew attention to the fact that reclaiming voice in the global order demanded national investment, research, continental funding mechanisms, and greater participation from both the public and private sectors.
âGovernments must recognise research not as a luxury but as a strategic necessity,â she noted.
She said the private industry should also see research funding not as philanthropy but as investment in innovation, development, and national competitiveness.
âUltimately, without control over the resources that shape knowledge, the quest to reclaim voice will remain incomplete,â she cautioned.
The lecture had in attendance Mr Haruna Iddrisu, Minister of Education, Madam Marietta Agyeiwaa Brew, the Chair of the University Council, members of the University Council, University Management, academics, policymakers, students and members of the University community.
GNA
April 27, 2026
Stephen Asante
[email protected]
Edited by Samuel Osei-Frempong