As mentioned earlier, Toyin Falola can arguably be called a public intellectual having achieved the status of Africa's most prolific and consistent historian. Of course, this would mean several things to different publics around the globe. Falola's Pan-Africanist outlook, activities and range have transformed him into a very unique type of scholar. He is indeed more than just a scholar and he has succeeded in redefining and expanding what it means to be a scholar-cum-activist-cum-public intellectual in an age of transnationalization. As noted earlier, his readiness to undertake works of remarkable quality in the genres of prose, poetry, cultural criticism, political commentary and of course, history, his initial and ostensible academic specialty, is particularly noteworthy. Although based in the United States, he visits Africa at least six times a year hosting conferences and organizing transnational research networks all over the continent.

By highlighting his terrifically versatile and prolific writings, it is necessary to focus on how the concepts of transnationality, interculturality, transdisciplinarity, locality and cosmopolitanism work within his output and how they can be employed in examining other outstanding scholars working on African(a)-related issues. It is also important to accentuate various ramifications of his multitudinous scholarly output.

Indeed, there is an aspect of his work that is often overlooked by scholars and even when studied is not as rigorously analyzed as other aspects of his corpus. This relates to his role, functions and achievements as a transdisciplinary scholar. To undertake an original analytical exploration of this crucial angle, means we have to go beyond the studies that have been produced on his intellectual life and work. Indeed it is possible to re-evaluate Falola's role as a transdisciplinary intellectual employing methodological grids that are quite novel. If for example, Falola has been concerning himself with important intellectual questions such as the transatlantic slave trade, colonialism, African feminisms, postcolonial governance and contemporary African migrations to the North Atlantic hemisphere, then we have to go beyond the field of historical studies to engage with his work.

Apart from the questions outlined above, the other major research questions at this juncture are how has Falola addressed issues such as African precolonial heritage and marginalized or suppressed swathes of African history and existence?

Sanya Osha: You had an extraordinary childhood by most standards.

You grew up in Ibadan, a bustling metropolis but you were molded on core Yoruba values. Can you talk about what these values are, the people that guided you in learning them, and how they have shaped your life?

Toyin Falola: Answer

I’ll answer your question by saying that values such as respect, diligence, accountability, truthfulness, humility, honesty, fairness, devotion and loyalty, among others, have an indestructible place in the Yorùbá world, and every member of the society is, by default, saddled with the responsibility of instilling these values into anyone, especially the younger ones. To this extent, everyone understands what is expected of all members of society in terms of moral responsibilities and would make efforts to play their part in the process. In essence, the Yorùbá people, in pre-independence Africa and the early period of post-independence Africa, did not find a shortage of avenues where they would be educated in what society expected of them. This philosophy is designed from the understanding that the people's collective identity is important and deserves to be managed by everyone so that they would not invite damnation into society or to themselves. The sociological infrastructure of the people was weaved to accommodate this sentiment in its entirety. As such, everyone understood that an elder's intervention with a child who demonstrates morally suspicious behavior is an act of social responsibility and not vilification of the child. In essence, the Yoruba society created the mental space to embrace that intervention and interjection in the spirit that it would substantially assist in structuring the society in ways that would assist the Yorùbá world to make progress. By the time, the children who defaulted on the collective moral expectations are reprimanded by the elders, they silently but apparently adjust themselves to the moral ideology of the community to the extent that they would consciously debar themselves from committing moral offenses that would invite external intervention. This comes from two different reasons. One, a child who habitually commits moral crimes would be socially interpreted as sound evidence of failed parenting, by which case the parents, and sometimes by extension, the family unit, would have their share of the blame.

Toyin Falola, an extraordinarily prolific historian, is undoubtedly an astonishing academic phenomenon of our times. Over the past four decades, the Nigerian-born scholar has contributed significantly to virtually all the disciplines in the humanities and social sciences spanning history (ancient, modern and contemporary), political science, art theory, poetry, literary criticism, anthropology, sociology, philosophy, gender studies, ethnic studies, globalization studies, ethnology, and the related disciplines of African and black diasporan studies. Such prodigiousness, versatility, and excellence in contemporary scholarship are rare, and therefore truly remarkable. But beyond the mere celebration of extraordinary academic achievement, there needs to be accompanying events to signpost and etch them in the annals of history.

Falola, in his work and life, affirms several African adages pertaining to the primacy of the collective ethos. The ancient African virtues and values of conviviality, communalism and reciprocity are central to his intellectual practice and lived experiences. An author, editor and co-editor of almost 200 academic volumes, his various intellectual projects have involved drawing together different African, Africa-descended and Africanist scholars of diverse ideological and theoretical persuasions in a bewildering assortment of collaborative ventures. Africa thus is not conceptualized as the homeland alone but viewed as part of an existential, historical, political and geostrategic continuum involving other black cultures in Europe, the United States, the Caribbean and South America.

This attests to a manifestation of Pan-Africanism in theory and practice. Falola is a Pan-Africanist of the activist stripe, and his global impact in this regard can be broadly perceived. In his numerous research projects in various parts of the Africana world, he developed life-long contacts and relationships with fellow travelers on the Pan-Africanist path. In thought and practice, he has diligently promoted the necessity and verities of Pan-African beliefs and philosophy. Africans everywhere are united through the disastrous histories of slavery, colonization, decolonization, and neocolonial oppression and their enduring legacies. Thus, if we are united in our forms of oppression, we should also stand together in overcoming them and building solid foundations for future generations. It is this kind of practical philosophy that is evident in Falola's intellectual practice and numerous extracurricular activities.

Sango, the popular Yoruba deity, is worshipped in many parts of the world where footprints of Yoruba culture are to be discerned. Such footprints litter wide swathes of West Africa and of course, the Americas which were a key destination during the transatlantic slave trade. And through the global dispersal of the Yoruba during the slave trade, their religion, often referred to as orisa, became a widely known system of worship and veneration. The number of Yoruba deities has been put at 401 but it is advised that this should be regarded as a metaphorical ascription rather than actual computational truth. Many deities are duplicated in various communities and this would account for their initial prolixity.

However, it is mostly agreed that the objects of spiritual veneration are not more than 200. Orisa are categorized into two broad classifications namely canonized forebears or deified elements of nature such as earth, wind and fire. They are further divided into metaphorically white deities (orisa funfun) such as Obatala, Osun, Yemoja, Olokun and Osoosi and hot deities (orisa gbigbona), most notably, Ogun, Sango, Osanyin/Obaluaye and Oya. White deities are often described as “gentle, soothing, calm, and reflective.” Hot or temperamental deities, on the other hand, are notably “harsh, demanding, aggressive, and quick tempered.”

It is instructive to note that orisa are not classified according to a vertical hierarchy or order of superiority and all of them are known to have both positive and negative attributes. It is also useful to mention that “the relative importance of any orisa in any given part of Yorubaland reflects the deity's relative local popularity, reputation, and influence.”3 Nonetheless, the extent of influence and veneration each deity enjoys worldwide differs. For instance, deities such as Ogun, Sango, Obatala, Osun, and Oya are indeed venerated globally (Ramos, 1987; Ramos, 1996; Reis, 2003; Reis and Ecuardo, 1989; Ribeiro, 2005, 1987; Rodriguez, 1977, 1995, 1997; Roland, 1988; Saburi, 1973; Samuel, 1852, 1921a, 1921b).

Sango, specifically, is deemed to be most potent and most feared both within the traditional Yoruba homelands of West Africa and in the diaspora. His acolytes in Trinidad and Tobago refer to him as “Papa Sango” as a term of endearment.

Thabo Mbeki, ex-president of South Africa (1999–2008), turned 80 years old on April 18, 2022. After a special event was organized at the Sandton Centre, Johannesburg, the Toyin Falola Interviews hosted another session of dialogues. The Toyin Falola Interviews is a remarkable forum that organizes public dialogues with highly distinguished Africans from all spheres of life most especially in politics, academia, social activism, culture and the arts. The Mbeki event was viewed by reportedly half of the South African population and over 30 million people worldwide including 13 heads of states across various countries. The session which also featured two young Nigerians, a poet and a singer, who honored Mbeki with their talents, lasted well over three hours.

Mbeki was interviewed by the renowned Malawian historian, Paul Zeleza and veteran South African TV anchorwoman, Naledi Moleo. Ultimately, Mbeki was warmly celebrated as an African giant, a true scion of Africa whose impact has been felt in several countries on the continent. Mbeki dwelled extensively on his various pet issues such as Pan-Africanism (repeatedly questioned by frequent xenophobic outbreaks in South Africa), the rebirth of the African National Congress, xenophobia, African renaissance, conflict resolution (solutions, Mbeki argued, come from ownership of conflict resolution processes). He touched on crises in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Cameroon, South Sudan, and Ivory Coast. Finally, he addressed the July 2021 riots in Durban and Johannesburg, the importance of active youth organizations to aid development, the educational crisis in South Africa, the challenges of the African Union (AU) (the decline of the AU's political commission after being subsumed under peace and security), neocolonialism, the G8, HIV/Aids (a major botch on his regime) and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The structure of the landmark Mbeki-Africa exchange was divided between South African affairs and broader continental issues. Zeleza and the rest of the audience who were invited to ask questions claimed Mbeki for the whole of Africa. Moleo tended to bring it all back home to South Africa.