In Trinidad, Adventist university opens Center for African Studies

August 28, 2014 | Maracas, St. Joseph, Trinidad | Kiev Chesney/IAD

Dr. Clinton A. Valley (left), USC president stands alongside representatives from the Nigerian High Commission during the opening of the Center for African Studies, in Trinidad, Aug. 4, 2014. Image by Curtis Henry/IAD

The University of Southern Caribbean (USC) launched its Center for African Studies to commemorate the 180th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the British West Indies, during a special activities held on campus in Trinidad and Tobago, Aug. 4, 2014.

Minister Councillor of the Nigerian High Commission Nasiru Waje commended university leaders for the initiative and said the center “should be viewed as an ‘Act of restitution’ as it helps to ensure that the contributions of Africans to humanity are well transmitted and documented.”

The center will serve as a gateway into comprehensive and objective study of the Africans, African-American and Caribbean experience, according to Waje.

“It is our firm belief that the Centre for African Studies will provide us with a greater knowledge of our history, a deeper understanding of the underlying causes of our present predicament, and an appreciation of our potential,” said Waje.

In addition, the center “will further uplift the vibrant spirit of coming together to reaffirm our identity, sense of unity and common purpose, build commitment to collective action within the global African community and facilitate the implementation of particular actions aimed at forging closer ties between Africa and the Diaspora,” explained Waje.

USC President Dr. Clinton Valley said the center symbolizes a desire to be intellectually emancipated from misconceptions and false learning of history and heritage. “The center is designed to help research and develop history from an Afro-centric perspective,” said Dr. Valley.
“We want to encourage research and publications about our African roots and foster greater collaboration between the Motherland and her scattered Caribbean descendants,” said Dr. Valley. “We want to encourage faculty and student exchanges as we learn more about one another and thereby reduce suspicions and prejudices borne out of ignorance.”

The Nigerian High Commission has taken steps to assist USC by sourcing Nigerian lecturers for the three main Nigerian languages: Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba, to be offered at the center.

Established in 1927, the University of the Southern Caribbean is a private, coeducational institution in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, fully recognized as a tertiary educational institution by Government of Trinidad and Tobago, through the Accrediting Council of Trinidad and Tobago. USC is also accredited by the Adventist Accrediting Association, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.

For more information and programs offered at the University of Southern Caribbean, visit usc.edu.tt