Nigeria, Nov. 19 -- To celebrate a scholar is not simply the recognition of the tick of a clock; it is an occasion for introspection on the institutional, intellectual, and cultural histories that individual represents, as well as those that have shaped them over the years. That Lead City University (LCU), Ibadan, is marking the 73rd birthday of Professor Toyin Falola with a conference is a celebration on many symbolic and material levels. It is a recognition of one of Africa's finest historians, and it is an acknowledgment of the production of knowledge as the sine qua non of the Nigerian academy. It is also part of the processes of reshaping how African universities imagine and realise their intellectual goals. This short essay will add...