By Wale Akinselure
A Professor of Economics at the Lagos Business School, Bongo Adi, has called on African scholars to develop original economic theories rooted in the continent’s realities instead of relying on frameworks formulated in Europe and the United States.
Adi made the call while delivering Pan-Atlantic University’s 23rd inaugural lecture, titled “The End of Development Economics: A Manifesto for Post-Industrial Policy,” at its Lekki campus in Lagos.
Adi criticised what he described as an imbalance in global economic discourse, saying African economists often generate data while scholars in developed countries formulate the theories.
He urged African academics to move beyond fitting local realities into externally developed frameworks and instead produce theories that reflect the continent’s unique socio-economic context.
“The end of development economics is not a cause for mourning; it is for liberation,” he said.
“For too long, African economists have been required to justify their work by reference to frameworks developed elsewhere, to benchmark their economies against trajectories established by other countries, and to apologise for how African realities deviate from Western models.”
He challenged the next generation of scholars to replace, rather than merely refine, existing development paradigms by combining intellectual ambition with practical policy solutions.
Adi argued that Africa must rethink its approach to economic theory and policymaking as artificial intelligence and mechanisation reshape the global economy.
He said, “Across Africa, a generation of entrepreneurs, engineers and creative workers is building economic futures that no textbook predicted.”
Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of Pan-Atlantic University, Prof Enase Okonedo, expressed optimism that the lecture would inspire scholars and policymakers to chart a self-determined path for the continent’s development.
She said the inaugural lecture was not only a celebration of Adi’s academic achievements but also “a bold invitation to rethink development economics for the post-industrial age.”
She described Adi as an accomplished scholar whose work spans economics, development policy, public-private partnerships, project finance, competitiveness and public sector reform.
According to her, his multidisciplinary expertise and commitment to evidence-based policymaking have made him a leading voice in shaping Africa’s economic future.
