Dissemination of findings is now acknowledged as the most important component of the research process. It is about the communication of innovation in our fields of expertise; this being either a planned and systematic process or a passive, unplanned diffusion process. Whichever means adopted, it is important to highlight that the utilization of research findings in policy or academic practice is sacrosanct for which effective communication is an important aspect of that process.
For a very long time and particularly since the 1950s; the time of early scholars like Cheick Antah Diop, the global south scholar has had to deal with unsurmountable challenges in research but most particularly in disseminating their findings. Reasons being that opportunities are scarce or have been made scarce by some powers of agency who have made publication conditions very stiff with implications that the perpetuation of data with a neo-colonial Euro-American centric north continue to populate the global south. This leads to the sustenance of coloniality of knowledge.
The Journal Global South Perspectives is an objective vision of the Global South Epistemologies Research Centre (GLOSERC) that seeks to achieve the centre’s objective of decolonial knowledge dissemination. This Volume and Issue is specific in its own right as it emanates from an open call for papers which non-the-less meets the decolonial objective in two ways. It either provides new knowledge about a global south context or issue or provides conceptual and theoretical clarity on a particular theme.
In this light the (joint) issue provides knowledge on themes of historiography, conflict resolution, indigenous knowledge systems, disaster management, forest conservation, slavery, cultural heritage and peace education. It is thus very rich in contents. Each of these articles is a product of original/empirical research with sound methodological processes. They have benefited from rational scientific evaluation processes of verification and validation through rigorous peer review. Most importantly the issue has a global south/continental spread judging from the contributions.
The issue opens with Hlengiwe Portia’s paper which explores the gendered representation of HIV/AIDS prevention constructed public and cultural spaces in Eswatini since the 1980s. Such representations she argues are gender bias and seem to associate HIV/AIDS more with the woman folk and obfuscates the formation of concrete HIV/AIDS prevention policies in in the country. The above is followed by two separately conducted studies on the development of historiography in Northern Nigeria by Nadir Nasidi and Atiku Abukakar. These articles have returned to the subject of the New African Historiography placing emphasis on the contributions of two first-second generation historians in Nigeria and Africa; Amadou Bello and Abdullahi Smith who both worked in Northern Nigeria. A key factor articulated by Nasidi and Abubakar is that both Smith and Bello laid emphasis on the use of oral tradition with visible evidence in the intellectual and scientific outputs of academics and in the spread of historical activism by those they trained around the continent.
Following these is Rene Ngek Monteh’s article on conflicts in Africa with that of Oku and Mbessa being in focus. Monteh argues that attempts at conflict resolution have been as many as the conflict itself has lasted. He questions why these skirmishes with significant levels of damage on both sides have not found a lasting solution. Monteh’s article is preceded by yet another in conflicts and conflict resolution; that of Eric Kangha Chu in which he presents the case of cross border conflicts in the Menchum Valley of Cameroon which shares boundary with Nigeria. Here Chu argues that conflicts among the Mbelogo and their Nigerian frontier neighbours have been prevalent since 1961 as a factor of reunification which changed dynamics in the area instituting a border amongst the people and government tax authorities; a thing they were not used to as both British administered people between 1922 and 1961. Ngome Elvis Nkome on his part addresses another knowledge perspective; that of slavery and slave trade and the questions of visual heritage especially on slave sites like Bimbia in the South West of Cameroon. Ngome argues that while the Bimbia slave trade site evokes memories of the brutal and inhumane trade, its touristic value needs to be enhanced and sustained.
Apart from the above, Vitalis Song Yamsa, Buwuh Ndingole Adeline and Ferdinan Vevanje have further contributed themes of critical importance to the development of historical research and the historiography of Cameroon. Yamsa has re-visited the Lake Nyos Disaster which occurred in 1986 and questions the approaches to post disaster rehabilitation and survivors’ re-integration into a new Nyos community and the challenges that have been faced by government and the victims of the disaster. Buwuh Ndingole Adeline on her part delves into the practices of birth and death rights among the Ba-Vengo of the North West region of Cameroon. She articulates issues of African indigenous knowledge, their meanings, use and how they can contribute to countering the epistemic violence that Africa has had to deal with and how the African society can reposition itself within the context of appropriating and re-asserting such indigenous knowledge in the global scene.
Finally, Ferdinan Ngomba Vevanje examines the now very popular issue of forest conservation and researches the role that local communities can play in managing community forests. His focus is on the Bokwaongo community forests; a protected area blessed with the highly demanded Pronus africanus; a tree whose bark is in high demand for pharmaceutical products. Vevanje has highlighted the importance of this forest, the role that community organizations are playing in conserving it and the challenges they face in doing so over the years around the Mount Cameroon area.
In all the papers in this issue make for a comprehensive read and would be of significant interest to established as well as emerging scholars and postgraduate students. Experience has shown that the latter have often faced huge challenges in articulating issues and in topics selection. Papers like those published in the issue should go a long way to inspire them in understanding various thematic dynamics and the forms in which such are articulated. We therefore wish you a happy read of the papers and a generous dissemination to your various networks.
Roland Ndille
(The Editor)