Historically, and in all societies, universities are institutions supposed to perform some basic functions consigned to them by society through political power, economic pattern, social expectations, and external influences. The functions and their combination and priority result from the specific history of education, science, culture, and ideology of individual countries and regions. One of the functions of the university is research. The establishment of a strong research infrastructure has become more than ever a sine qua non in this competitive and globalized world. Sub-Saharan Africa is lagging behind from the rest of the world in its research productivety not only because of lack of a strong research infrastructure caused by weak economic performance but also due to the inability and lack of self-esteem and the strong hegemonic external influences. This paper will argumentatively analyze the research landsacpe in Sub-Saharan Africa.