Speaker
Description
Attah, A. H.
Federal University of Education Kontagora, Niger State, Nigeria.
attahhenryattah@gmail.com
Track: Inclusion, Equity and Digital Access
The rapid adoption of foreign digital platforms—Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Coursera—by African universities post-COVID has been framed as “bridging the digital divide.” However, this shift raises critical political economy questions about power, data, and long-term development autonomy. This study employs a political economy and development studies lens to interrogate whether Africa’s digital transformation of higher education is fostering digital sovereignty or reproducing digital colonialism. Drawing on dependency theory and the concept of data extractivism, the paper examines three dimensions: 1) ownership and control of digital infrastructure and user data; 2) implications of platform dependence for curriculum design, academic freedom, and institutional governance; and 3) the role of African states, regional bodies like AUDA-NEPAD, and universities in negotiating alternative, “future-ready” digital ecosystems. Using policy document analysis and semi-structured interviews with ICT directors and university management in select North-Central Nigerian Federal Universities, the study argues that while foreign platforms offer short-term access, their proprietary models, subscription costs, and data harvesting practices create structural dependencies that undermine Africa’s vision of self-reliant, inclusive higher education. The paper concludes with policy recommendations for building regional cloud infrastructure, open-source alternatives, and regulatory frameworks that reposition Africa as a producer, not just consumer, of digital education technologies.