What began as conversations among former University of Ibadan postgraduate students at the Department of Political Science has blossomed into a global movement reshaping Nigerian scholarship. The Graduate Research Clinic (GRC), founded by UI graduates now spanning institutions across Nigeria and the globe, hosted its inaugural Digital Humanities Workshop on Monday, March 2, 2026.
Chaired by renowned linguist and Professor of African languages at the University of Ibadan, Prof. Francis Egbokhare, the session exemplified GRC’s mission to bridge academic generations and geographies. Prof. Tunde Ope-Davies, of the University of Lagos, challenged researchers to “territorialise” digital tools for African knowledge production. Dr. James Yékú, now at the University of Kansas, introduced computational text analysis alongside fellow Kansas researcher Abisola Akinsiku, who demonstrated Instagram and TikTok’s potential for scholarly engagement through “Creative Climb.”
GRC’s Executive Director, Oluwatobiloba Adewunmi, an UI alumnus, articulated that the vision for the workshop is to maximise digital tools to redefine humanities and humanistic social science education and research across Africa. He affirmed GRC’s commitment to building capacity among graduate students and early-career researchers nationwide, insisting development hinges on disciplined allocation of Research4Development funding.
With participants grappling with digital archiving and resources for deaf adolescents, GRC unveiled an ambitious roadmap featuring a six-month fellowship and strategic grant-writing.
The growing network is a proof that a homegrown network of Nigerian scholars, rooted in Ibadan’s legacy, can lead Africa’s digital humanities renaissance.
