Cheikh Anta Diop was a historian, anthropologist, physicist, and politician famous for his theory that the Ancient Egyptians were Black Africans. Okello Oculi remembers a series of meetings he had with Anta Diop in the 1980s.

The diaspora has a key role to play in using the resources at their disposal to build the power of Nigeria and the rest of Africa, argues Okello Oculi.

In Frantz Fanon’s analysis of colonial relations in Algeria, Okello Oculi looks at Nigeria’s political trajectory from independence until today. Fanon argued that violence was a means to regain self-respect. Oculi critically examines this claim in the context of Nigerian events such as the war in Biafra and violence in the Niger Delta.

Cameron Duodu should write a book about people whose minds were liberated by Basil Davidson’s recasting of history, says Okello Oculi.

Following the troubling deaths of Guineans under the repressive rule of Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, Okello Oculi argues that Camara's action represents the latest incident of a 'lethal psychotic disorder' manifested by an African leader. Camara's actions are reminiscent of those of former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, Oculi contends, and necessitate an immediate response from ECOMOG (Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group).

In this week’s Pambazuka News, Okello Oculi reminisces about the relationship between Makerere University alumni, the late Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem and Professor Ali Mazrui. In particular Oculi contemplates how Tajudeen might have responded to a recently announced joint initiative between Ugandan President Museveni and Makerere University to honour Professor Mazrui by establishing a new centre for Global Studies and scholarship fund in his name.

As tensions between Uganda's Buganda region and the national state continue, Okello Oculi urges the country to resist the exploitation of ethnic and religious divisions in this week's Pambazuka News.

If those in charge are not to continue blocking greater pan-African unity, there need to be more conferences on a United States of Africa, argues Okello Oculi in this week's Pambazuka News. Thoroughly dissatisfied with his own recent experience of a conference between African scholars in Dakar, Senegal, Oculi stresses that while politicians' direct involvement in academic events can be beneficial, it should not come at the expense of intellectual freedom to debate and critique.