| Summary: | This paper is about why and how African-centered Mathematics can be a driving force in Africa's development efforts. That Africa was the center of Mathematics history for tens of thousands of years is hardly a matter of dispute. From the civilizations across the continent emerged contributions which would enrich both ancient and modern understandings of nature through Mathematics. Yet, today, scholars and other professionals working in the field of Mathematics Education in Africa have identified a plethora of problematic issues in the endeavor. In this paper, I argue that a major reason for these problems is that the African mother tongue has been greatly neglected in the teaching of Mathematics in Africa. This situation must be changed if the continent is to benefit from the tremendous opportunities Mathematics offers. While a great deal of work exists on the connections between Linguistics and Mathematics in general, few can be found on the nexus between African languages and Mathematics in particular, and these latter works are not linguistics-theoretically grounded. Thus, this essay begins by identifying the objects to the study of Linguistics and Mathematics and delineates which ones they study in common. Next, since the object of the study of Linguistics is language, the nine design features of language are employed to examine each of the objects as it pertains to African languages. After that, Mathematics of Sustainability and Mathematics of Tipping Points are suggested as a means to help Africa's development efforts.
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