Redeeming Nigerian universities

The piece by Niyi Akinnaso entitled, ‘Nigerian Universities: Comparative Lessons in achieving world-class status, in The Punch Newspaper of October 10, 2017 p.40 and the follow-up one on same issue with the title, “Lessons from the world’s fastest-rising University” in The Punch newspaper of October 17, 2017 p.48 makes an interesting reading.  In the characteristic manner of Akinnaso, a retired don, the articles were written in very lucid prose. They are incisive and an eye opener.  He dwelled extensively on university ranking across the world; most especially what makes a university thick so to say.  It is of no essence to recapitulate why universities in Europe, America and Asia are far and above their counterparts in Africa and particularly Nigeria.  It is not an over-statement to commend the piece to visitors to our universities – federal, state and privately-owned to aid them vis-à-vis policy formulation as it affects our citadels of learning.  The octopus National Universities Commission (NUC) may also need to keep the piece in its archives.

Meanwhile, the gap in the write-up no doubt, is discernment of critical mess in our university system that has over the years crippled the ivory towers to the point that non hardly meets the ranking of the first 100 universities in the world. If globally, the ‘Premier University’ in Nigeria founded in the late 40s till date could not meet up to be amongst the first 100 but rather in the thousands, it is unfortunate.  Nigeria with 153 universities needs to be more concerned and buckle up in nurturing universities that could be a catalyst to national development.   We will now highlight few reasons responsible for the pallous state of Nigeria universities. To start with, the greatest challenge facing the university system in the country revolves around bad governance in all ramifications which undoubtedly is the harbinger of all other catastrophes suffered by the system.  The Visitors – in terms of Mr. President and Governors superintending over universities are too passive.  They only send prepared speeches on both matriculation and convocation ceremonies.  They become interested in the future of their universities only when there are crises in terms of labour unrest or students rampage.   This has created a false sense of ownership on the administrators with paucity to become demi-gods.

The concomitant effect of the ‘absence’ of the Visitors has exacerbated governance problem in our universities.  A good number of them are enmeshed in brazen corruption.  Governments are blamed for poor funding, but the little given to universities is badly deployed.  Public university administrators have become financial vampires in a corruption complex that entangles all the so-called stakeholders.  When visitation panels are sent to probe into their activities, the powers that be ensure that white papers that should accompany such reports never see the light of the day.   With heaps of such reports consigned to either the dustbin or unattended to, the hope of Nigerian universities making top ranking may become a mirage after all.

Nevertheless, our university system enormously harbours those problems that it should be immune from. This is not unconnected with the fact that it is a product of the society that has cost its societal norms to moral degeneration.  It is appalling that nepotism, ethnicity and religious bigotry are mutual triplets’ troubling the system.  Rather than merit and competence, the cancerous mode of admission, recruitments and promotion are banes of our universities.  If other sections suffer serious abuse, institutions generating knowledge and training skill manpower for development ought to be exempted from human frailties. But alas, this is a clime where the same problem of man no man is replicated in our universities.  Sadly, university dons criticizing the larger society have become empire builders.  Departments and faculties are factionalised for mundane reasons.  To compound the problem, local potentates have hijacked federal universities in their domains.  They see them as national cake.  It is an indication that appointments of Vice Chancellors have become a kind of patronage too.  Today, we can hardly find a Northerner as Vice Chancellor of a federal university in the East or a Westerner as head of same in the North.

In a few instances in the past when heads of federal institutions hailed from other zones, the story was unpalatable.  It is unfortunate that rather than merit and strict application of federal character principle in our universities, the principle is observed in breach! Perhaps the most unfortunate phenomenon now in a number of our universities is religious bigotry. Which faith do you profess? Whereas, religion should be absolutely personal and ought not to becloud sense of reasoning in either intellectual output or taking vital decision.  One cannot easily forget the hullabaloo associated with both the cross and the moon at the University of Ibadan not long ago.

Be that as it is, if any of our universities will graduate to higher ranking, the state of infrastructure must be enhanced. A visit to many of our campuses will show a parade of different sizes of power generating sets that emit carbon monoxide.  Without stable electricity supply coupled with uninterrupted internet facility to be abreast of various fields, our universities may not meet up with international standards.  Individual universities need to sharpen research focus.  But this is a clime where research has become secondary to our universities!  Where research funds are available it is given to those that are surrogates of the power that be in the university rather than strict rigorous assessment of research proposals.

The resumes of most new generation professors are unimpressive. A lot of dons do not profess. They are peradventure too obscure in their disciplines that beyond the shores of Nigeria, they are not known or cited.  Quite a number of dons have never presented scholarly papers at the international fora. The real melancholy is that attaining the status of professorship in our universities has become more political than academic excellence.  Then, how do you grow top flight universities? In conclusion, virtually all Nigerian universities lack the attribute of university that is embedded in the idea of a ‘university’.  To attract foreign students is a mirage where facilities available here are far below what obtain in neighboring Ghana. How much more, competing with universities in advanced democracies. Even, the weak states of our national currency – Naira – do not attract foreign students.

In Ghana, students from neighbouring African states pay in dollars. This has not only assisted their universities financially, but the league effect has boosted their national economy. Now, Ghanaian cedi outweighs our Naira in international economic relations because of what students tuition fees alone brings to their economy annually.   If five per cent of Nigerian universities are strong enough to attract 20 per cent foreign students, the story could have been different economically.  Finally, the idea of university autonomy could have assisted the system but its abuse has constituted a clog in the wheel of progress of our universities more so by the administrators who have either become ‘tyrants’ or ‘terrorists’.  Let’s redeem our universities, it is a collective efforts.

• Ojo, an Associate Professor of Comparative Politics at the University of Ilorin, is the Chief of Staff to the Oyo State governor