Abugeya Tosanwumi

Abugeya Tosanwumi (born 1928) is an Aleri linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, political activist, politician, and sixth President of the Republic of Alero. Sometimes called “the father of humanities in Alero,” Tosanwumi is also a major figure for philosophy in the country. He is formerly Laureate Professor of Linguistics at the University of Tano and Institute Professor Emeritus at the Reran University of Cultural Studies, as well as the former Head Curator of the National Museum of Aleri Civilization. He is the author of more than 150 books on topics such as linguistics, war, politics, history, and anthropology. During the era of the Besida dictatorship, he was a key voice for change and aligned himself closely with the ADPC (Aleri Democratic People’s Coalition).

Born to upper middle-class Abuda parents in Tano, Tosanwumi developed an early interest in linguistics and politics from frequenting bookstores and cafes throughout the city and engaging with his peers. He studied at the University of Tano. During his postgraduate work in the Royal Aleri Society of Fellows in Tano, he developed a theory of transformational grammar for which he was granted his doctorate. He began teaching at the Reran Royal Academy of Royal studies in 1955, a year before the Besida Revolution transformed the institution into the National Institute of Cultural and Anthropological Studies. In 1957, he emerged as a significant figure in linguistics and the humanities with his landmark work Hidden in Tradition, which played a major role in reframing the study of language in Alero. From 1958 to 1959, Tosanwumi was a National Patriotic Scientist’s Foundation fellow at the National Academy for Advanced Study, before he was dismissed by the regime for his democratic views.

An outspoken critic of the Besida regime, which he said was as a dictatorial group no better than the monarchy that preceded it, in 1967 Tosanwumi rose to national attention for his anti-Besida essay “The Burden of Intellectuals.” Becoming associated with the growing anti-Besida movement, he was arrested multiple times for his activism and put to hard labor, even being placed on an official “List of Enemies of the State.”  While expanding his work in linguistics in the humanities, he also became involved particularly in Alero’s anthropology scene and the subsequent “humanities wars.”  Tosanwumi was forced underground following the rise in power of Mofe Ofosanre, an even more hard-line Besida figure who plunged much of the nation into chaos. However, following the regime’s collapse, he was placed on the 67-member Council of Representatives, a key voice in Alero’s Transitional Government.

One of the most cited Aleri scholars alive, Tosanwumi has influenced a broad array of academic fields. He is widely recognized as having helped shape how Alero approaches the humanities today, contributing to the development of a new cognitivistic framework for the study of language and of people and cultures. In addition, he remains a leading political voice in Alero, serving in public office multiple times before running for President in 2018 and winning. Tosanwumi continues to be among the loudest voices for freedom of speech, democracy, and the rule of law, as well as non-interventionism in smaller nations and encouragement of peaceful or diplomatic approaches.