Ngugi's essay "On the Abolition of the English Department" seems to bring up the old question of what is literature? And more specifically what literature should be taught in African schools? When Ngugi wrote this essay English literature was the dominant subject whereas he argues that there should be more than just British writings being studied. They argue that there should be a whole African literature department because it is the roots of the African people studying at the university.
I see this as a justified argument. It makes sense for them to want this kind of depatment because here in the united states we study American Literature as well as other types of literature as well. It makes sense for them to study their own literature especially because of Africa's history of colonization. With European forces influencing African education systems, it makes sense that Ngugi would want to get away from imperalized systems and bring more of the indigenous roots out in the education system.