THE ISSUE OF academic freedom is a subject close to my heart. To some extent I am abroad because not enough academic freedom seemed to be immediately available to permit me to be myself at home. I would prefer to believe that the deterioration of certain freedoms in Africa is very temporary and that in fact, as we look at the next twenty-five years before the year 2000, we will be witnessing important changes for the better. In this article, however, I will concentrate on an interpretation of the situation as it exists.