Emeritus Professor Peter Okebukola, former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), is set to officially launch the African Scholarly Referencing Style (ASRS), the first citation system conceived, developed, and owned entirely by Africa.

The initiative marks a significant milestone in African scholarship, addressing a long-standing gap in global academic practice. Despite hosting thousands of universities and producing centuries of research, Africa has not previously originated any of the 29 major internationally recognised referencing styles, including APA, MLA, Chicago, Vancouver, Harvard, and IEEE, all of which are Western in origin.

Professor Olusola Oyewole, Secretary-General of the Association of African Universities (AAU), headquartered in Accra, Ghana, praised the initiative, describing it as a “groundbreaking and visionary contribution to Africa’s intellectual sovereignty.” He added that ASRS responds to concerns about epistemic colonialism, the marginalisation of African knowledge systems, and the under-recognition of African scholarly traditions.

Speaking in Abuja, Okebukola said, “ASRS offers Africa an unprecedented opportunity to assert its scholarly identity. While 95 per cent of the system aligns with existing global formats, the remaining five per cent introduces African-centred innovations, including structured ways of citing oral knowledge, traditional custodians of wisdom, multilingual sources, folklore, community authorship, and indigenous knowledge systems.”

The ASRS also provides guidance for citing African grey literature, institutional documents, local research reports, and works published in African languages, ensuring that all forms of African scholarship are recognised and discoverable.

The system incorporates ten specialised variants inspired by global styles such as APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, AMA, Vancouver, Turabian, IEEE, ACS, and Bluebook, while introducing subtle yet meaningful African perspectives.

On implementation, Okebukola outlined a ten-year pan-African roll-out, beginning with the development of a style manual, training materials, and citation software tools. The system will be piloted in selected African universities and journals before being expanded to hundreds of institutions and integrated into thesis guidelines, journal editorial policies, and university presses. The plan aims for ASRS to be recognised by global indexing services such as Scopus and Web of Science.

“ASRS is more than a citation format. It is a statement of Africa’s intellectual independence, strengthening the visibility of African scholarship, enhancing discoverability, and fostering a collective scholarly identity across the continent’s diverse cultures and languages,” Okebukola said.

Professor Okebukola’s decades-long international leadership, including his tenure as NUC Executive Secretary, UNESCO Kalinga Prize awardee, Chair of multiple university governing councils, and AAU Ambassador for West Africa, has garnered strong continental and international support for ASRS.

With the launch of ASRS, Africa is poised to claim a central role in shaping global academic frameworks while celebrating and preserving its rich intellectual heritage.