JHEA/RESA Vol. 18, No. 1, 2020, pp. 53-65 © Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa, 2021 (ISSN 0851–7762) Situating African Indigenous Ideas within Conventional Learning as an Impetus for Knowledge Construction in Africa Babatunde Joshua Omotosho* Abstract Literature regarding knowledge production reveals that Africa can do better than its present state through the exploration and installation of homegrown ideas detached from the Western hold on its academy. This article contributes to this debate by exploring the place of indigenous knowledge within the academy and the challenges facing its popularity within the continent. The article further provides suggestions on how indigenous and conventional orthodox knowledge can cohere towards a more pragmatic knowledge production that can propel Africa’s development. Résumé La littérature sur la production de connaissances révèle que l’Afrique peut faire mieux par l’exploration et l’installation, dans son académie, d’idées lo-cales détachées de l’emprise occidentale. Cet article contribue à ce débat en explorant la place du savoir autochtone au sein de l’académie et les défis qui s’opposent à sa popularité sur le continent. En outre, l’article propose des manières d’harmoniser les connaissances orthodoxes autochtones et con- ventionnelles vers une production de connaissances plus pragmatique qui peut propulser le développement de l’Afrique. Introduction Te concept of indigenous knowledge 1 was frst used by anthropologists to explain the existence of other forms of knowledge when it comes to development assistance (Brokensha, Warren, Werner 1980; Lanzano 2013). Development agencies and international organizations picked * Department of Sociology, Federal University Oye-Ekiti Nigeria. Email: babatundeomotosho@gmail.com