I’m not happy this morning, to say the least. I should have said I was sad.I am sad about Nigeria, its declining institutions and its future. This makes me sad this morning.The results of the World University Rankings have been announced. And what will be the result? It’s a shame. It’s a national shame.
Out of the over 274 universities parading in Nigeria, only one, known as Band A University, made it to the first 1,000 list.
Isn’t that sad? But that’s not sad enough. The sad thing is that even the only university on the list was neither a federal nor a state university, but a private university, and even a mission university. Nothing came out of taxpayers’ money or the public budget. That’s the unfortunate part.
According to Professor Okebukola, the results are as follows:
Of the first 1,000 universities, only Covenant universities, known as Band A universities and ranked between 801 and 1,000, made the list.
Next up are Band B universities (1001-1200). Only four universities made it to the list: Ahmadu Bello University, University of Ibadan, Landmark University and University of Lagos.
Next, Band C University: 1201-1500. Only six universities formed the band: Federal Polytechnic University of Akure and Minna, Bayero University, University of Benin, University of Ilorin and University of Nsukka.
Next is Band D: (1501-?): Only 10 schools remained on the list: 4 state universities such as LASU, EKSU, LAUTECH, Nnamdi Azikiwe University and FUNAAB, FUTO, OAU, FUOYE, UNIPORT, UNILORIN. , the seven federal universities of DANFODIYO. Sokoto.
A total of 21 Nigerian universities made it to the list mentioned in the world rankings. Two of these schools made it to the best list in bands A and B. These are Covenant University and Landmark University owned by the same organ, a Christian missionary institution headed by David Oyedepo.
Does this suggest anything? And wait for the real shock.
Of the remaining 19 universities in bands B to D, 15 are federal universities and the remaining four are state universities.
Here’s the shock:
* No federal or state universities were included in the initial list of 1,000 universities.
* Private universities are not listed, with the exception of Covenant and Landmark in the first two categories.
* Of the 21 universities, 6 are located in the north and 15 in the south. Of the 15 locations in the South, 10 are in the Southwest, three are in the Southeast, and two are in the South-South. Three of the northern five are in the north-central Middlebelt, and the remaining two are in the northeast. Of the three in North Central 2, Landmark and Unilorin are in the same Kwara state.
*Among the first generation universities, only Ife and Nsukka are not on the Band B list like the others. Nsukka made a C and Ife, Great Ife fell and became a D.
What does this mean? What lessons can we learn from this?
With all due respect to Professor Okebukola and others who think this result is impressive and worth celebrating, I do not. I’m not sure what’s impressive here. I see this as a symbol of national shame and a more vivid and tragic dramatization of the mismanagement and mismanagement of the university in particular and the Nigerian nation as a whole.
What I find particularly sad is that first-generation federal universities like the University of Ife cannot raise their heads, while private organizations without access to public funds, taxpayer subsidies, and alumni support base , having achieved valuable results at two of her universities. Great Ife, once globally known and respected, is now a Band D university, surpassing even Landmark University, which is less than 10 years old.
I am especially sad about Ife, Great Ife because I know what this university was like in the days when scholarships were the watchword of the university. This shows how Nigeria has mismanaged this great university in particular.
The proliferation of universities resulted in the decline and depletion of quality faculty from older universities, leading to the decline of the Nigerian university system.
The Senate just recently passed another bill to transform Ilaro Polytechnic into a full-fledged university. Another university will soon be established in Iragbiji to appease the new overlord. All of this leads to depletion of existing personnel who are in short supply. The problem with Nigeria is that we tend to overdo things until we ruin everything.
Why do we need 274 universities? Rather, why not have 100 functioning, well-equipped, well-staffed, well-structured, and monitored institutions? Only 21 were mentioned in the Global Ranking, what happened to the remaining 253? They are no longer included in the World Ranking’s Excellent Register!
It is sad and shameful that more money has flowed into Nigeria in the last 25 years of the Fourth Republic than at any other time in history. And sadly, it is precisely during this period that Nigeria’s federal and state universities are experiencing the worst reversal, the worst decline and the most persistent strike by the teaching staff for various reasons.
It was also during this period that Nigerian universities were at their most qualitatively underfunded, mismanaged and mismanaged. As economic conditions and poverty become more common, the university system will suffer further and future rankings may worsen. When instructors come to work less frequently due to rising fuel costs, results generally decline. Everything is now equal.
While the government spends N96 billion to fund the pilgrimage to Mecca, the engine rooms of universities and institutions of national thought are begging for help and gasping for oxygen to survive.
Funding is a major issue for our universities and contributes to this lackluster performance, but funding alone does not explain everything. As I have said before, funding is just one of many factors that impact our institutions. There are also other systemic factors that cannot be discussed in detail here. Employee salaries at Covenant and Landmark universities are not higher than those at federal and state universities. I don’t know if they have better service conditions. Still, their universities achieved great results. Does that say anything?
Although state universities have long charged tuition and have the resources, only four schools made the list. Federal universities now also charge students for accommodation, adding up to hundreds of thousands of levies per student on top of the small amount of federal aid. Has there been any improvement? Are there any of these?
So while funding is a factor, lack of funding alone doesn’t explain all of the decline we see in universities. Fortunately, the rankings are not based on physical infrastructure, but on the quality of intellectual output and mental effort, and on the capabilities of participating institutions. I can’t go into that right now. That’s a topic for another day.
In the meantime, I would like to congratulate the World Mission Organization, also known as Winners Chapel, and its missionary, Bishop David Oyedepo, for this wonderful outcome. Those of you who are always criticizing churches and pastors can now direct your energy elsewhere. At least the church announced the results of the money it raised and showed itself to be a much better steward of people and resources than governments at the state or federal level, or even public institutions.
It’s a shame. It’s a national shame. I’m sad this morning.
