Last week, from 1st to 3rd July, 2025, I had the privilege of participating in the 14th Toyin Falola International Conference (TOFAC) on Africa and the African Diaspora, which took place in Osun State University in Osogbo, Nigeria. Organised by the UNESCO-IFCD-UNIOSUN Cultural Project, the Board of TOFAC, the College of Humanities and Culture (Osun State University, Osogbo), and the Department of History, University of Texas at Austin, this year’s theme, “African Cultural Creativity and Innovation,” could not have been more timely or inspiring. The conference, which brought together scholars, culture enthusiasts, and practitioners from different disciplines, provided an enriching space for critical reflections on Africa’s growing global influence and how African creative industries, intercultural dialogue, and innovation are not only transforming the continent but also reshaping how Africa is perceived globally.
One of the key insights from the lectures presented during the conference was the urgent need to harness Nigeria’s soft power primarily through cultural diplomacy and digital innovation to rebrand the country’s image globally. I look forward to developing a scholarly paper on this theme soon. The TOFAC 2025 conference also covered subthemes such as: Digital humanities and digital culture; content creation and innovation in contemporary African culture; sustainable ecosystems and cultural creativity; social media, cultural creativity, and democratic growth; migration and cultural creativity; artificial intelligence and African indigenous knowledge systems; and localisation, glocalisation, and African cultural realities, among others.
As part of my doctoral research dissemination activities, I presented a paper titled: “Digitalising War Narratives: Exploring War Memories and the Nigerian-Biafran War Experience.” This presentation draws directly from my PhD work titled “The Catholic Church and Peacebuilding in Post-Civil War Nigeria, 1970-2015”. While my thesis focused on institutional peacebuilding efforts, particularly those driven by the Catholic Church, this paper expanded the conversation to explore how digital archives are being used by individuals and communities to preserve the memories and lived experiences of the Nigerian Civil War. As we know, the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970) remains one of the most traumatic episodes in Africa’s post-independence history. Yet more than five decades later, official attempts to reckon with this past remain minimal. I argue that state-sanctioned silence, the absence of official records about the war, and the lack of institutional memory continue to shape Nigeria’s post-war landscape. My research highlights how digital platforms, such as the Biafran War Memories Project, are preserving the lived experiences, identities, and histories of communities affected by the war. I also affirm that these digital platforms have become alternative archives for marginalised voices, offering new forms of engagement with memory, identity, and reconciliation. I argue that these digital efforts are not just about preserving history, but also about challenging historical silences, creating spaces for communal healing, and offering new pathways for intergenerational understanding. In an age of digital connectivity, such storytelling has the potential to democratise historical narratives and reshape collective memory in meaningful ways.
I am immensely grateful to the TOFAC Conference Fellowship Committee for awarding me the 2025 TOFAC Fellowship, which supported my participation in this year’s conference. Thanks to the University of Texas at Austin and the generosity of Professor Toyin Falola, the fellowship provided full registration, accommodation, and other resources that made my attendance and research dissemination possible. It was an excellent opportunity to engage in rich scholarly exchanges and to advance my work on post-war memory and digital storytelling.
A particularly memorable moment for me was finally meeting Professor Toyin Falola, who served as my PhD external supervisor. Though he joined my defence virtually, meeting him in person during the conference was deeply fulfilling, particularly because as a Nigerian historian, his scholarly contributions have been a significant influence on my academic journey. His speeches were filled with wisdom, passion, and gentle provocations. One of his most resonant messages during the conference was the need to write personal memoirs to ensure that future generations can read about us in our own voices. He also challenged us to decolonise how we think about data, sources, and knowledge itself, urging us, as African scholars, to rethink not only what we study but also how we study it.
On the final day of the conference, we embarked on a cultural excursion to some tourist sites in Osogbo, including the Osun Osogbo Sacred Grove, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the last remaining sacred forests in Nigeria. It was a deeply reflective experience to walk through that historic space and learn about the spiritual and cultural traditions of the Osogbo people. The grove tells a story of resilience, sacred ecology, and the powerful role of space in African cosmology. It was a beautiful reminder of the depth and resilience of our heritage. We also visited the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding, where we explored the Oba Moses Oyinlola Museum, which was filled with various exhibitions that showcased Yoruba history. This trip reminded me of the richness we carry and must preserve as Africans.
Overall, the TOFAC 2025 reminded me of the power of African storytelling, the urgency of preserving memory, and the importance of creating platforms where our narratives can live, grow, and inspire others. I am grateful for the knowledge shared, the people I met, and the conversations that will continue long after the conference. I look forward to engaging further with the ideas shared at TOFAC 2025 and applying them in my ongoing research and writing.