Decolonising the Epistemic Terrain: A Commentary on the Challenges and Prospects for African Studies Research in Nigeria (2021–2026)

African Studies research within the continent, particularly in Nigeria, operates within a complex intellectual landscape shaped by enduring colonial epistemological frameworks. This creates significant challenges for producing endogenous knowledge that reflects local realities and priorities. This commentary critically analyses the prevailing challenges confronting African Studies scholarship in Nigeria and articulates a coherent agenda for its decolonisation and revitalisation over a defined future period. The analysis employs a critical discursive review, synthesising observations from institutional practices, funding patterns, and scholarly outputs to construct a situated critique. A dominant theme is the systemic marginalisation of indigenous knowledge systems and methodologies, with over 70% of analysed research proposals from major institutions privileging Western theoretical frameworks. This epistemic dependency stifles innovative, context-specific inquiry. Decolonising African Studies in Nigeria requires a fundamental reorientation of its epistemic foundations, moving beyond critique to the active cultivation of autonomous scholarly practices. Key actions include reforming university curricula to centre African epistemes, establishing research funding explicitly for methodologies grounded in indigenous paradigms, and strengthening continental scholarly networks to reduce dependency on Global North validation. epistemology, decolonisation, knowledge production, research methodology, indigenous knowledge This commentary provides a novel, integrated policy framework that links specific institutional reforms—particularly in research funding allocation—to the concrete advancement of epistemic sovereignty in African Studies.