Year 2022 marked the second ceremony of the African Genius Awards. The awards celebrated unsung African heroes who have played a pivotal role in the innovation and development of the African continent. Thanks to Dr. Sifiso Falala, founder of Plus 94 Research and the African Genius Awards (AGA), today’s African heroic accomplishments can be recognized and celebrated simultaneously. Upon realizing that there were no accolades that honoured African geniuses, Dr. Falala decided to launch AGAs. It is a platform that aims to celebrate excellence, advance development, and economic change on the African continent. “I have been observing with great anguish and pain our subservient position in society as Africans, especially here in South Africa. And the gap between the haves and the haves not. And I wondered why we have these major differences. I have been disappointed by the inability of those who are leading us to close the gap,” Dr. Falala told TransformSA. “Our values need to be resurrected, so part of the narrative needs to be that we have lost our identity as Africans. We need to make declarations: One, we are African, two. It is unAfrican to be corrupt, it is unAfrican to be greedy, and it is unAfrican not to care about another person, because in Africa we have Ubuntu,” he said.
Upon realizing that there were no accolades that honoured African geniuses, Dr. Falala decided to launch AGAs. It is a platform that aims to celebrate excellence, advance development, and economic change on the African continent. “I have been observing with great anguish and pain our subservient position in society as Africans, especially here in South Africa. And the gap between the haves and the haves not. And I wondered why we have these major differences. I have been disappointed by the inability of those who are leading us to close the gap,” Dr. Falala told TransformSA.
“Our values need to be resurrected, so part of the narrative needs to be that we have lost our identity as Africans. We need to make declarations: One, we are African, two. It is unAfrican to be corrupt, it is unAfrican to be greedy, and it is unAfrican not to care about another person, because in Africa we have Ubuntu,” he said.
The awards honour people of all ages who show exceptional skills. Nominations for the 2022 AGAs opened in October 2021 and closed on 30th January 2022. The public had a chance to nominate individuals they felt ticked all the boxes to become the next African genius. After receiving 60 nominations, the adjudicating committee gathered to shortlist 23 people.
The adjudicating committee consists of five reputable judges: Professor Tawana Kupe, who is Vice-Chancellor of the University of Pretoria, Professor Steven Friedman Director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy at Rhodes University, Dr. Pulane Elsie Molokwane a Nuclear Physicist and an Environmental Specialist. Other judges include Fulufhelo Ntsandeni, a qualified Chartered Accountant, Simon Gathua from DaVinci Institute for Technology, and Dr. Rosaire Ifedi, an Associate Professor in the United States of America.“We look at exceptional achievers. The winners that we had last year would show you exactly what we meant by this and the standard that we set,” said Dr. Molokwane.
“We acknowledge high achievers, but we need more than just being a high achiever. You must have done something very impactful. Something that any other ordinary person would not achieve daily,” Dr. Molokwane added.
Dr. Molokwane is a high achiever herself. Besides being a Nuclear Physicist, she is an Environmental Specialist with expertise in groundwater remediation, nuclear waste, process, and solid waste management. Attesting to Dr. Pulane’s words, the AGA recognizes only the best of the best. Fortunately, the African continent is brimming with talent. Last year’s AGAs honoured the likes of Steve Biko, Chinua Achebe, Aliko Dangote, and other outstanding achievers. Further asserting the criteria of candidates is Dr.Rosaire Ifedi. An academic of note and doyen who has travelled far and wide. “When you hear the word genius, I don’t know what comes up in your mind. But to me, it means unparalleled excellence.Or innovations that impact lives,” Dr. Ifedi said. Part of the ‘genius’ criteria is identifying African problems and promulgating solutions for socio-economic transformation.
“The accolades speak to the calibre of Africans who have risen to the top in their field who have done innovative things of expertise. These individuals have shown that they care about the people, so their work impacts the lives of Africans in one way or another. We need to show the good in Africa, that is my biggest buying point,” Dr. Ifedi said. Dr. Ifedi came in as a new addition to the adjudicating judge panel for the second AGAs.
