By Oluibukun Gbenga Ajayi
Higher education stands as the cornerstone upon which a nation shapes its destiny. It is the crucible where ideas and innovations are forged, nurturing the intellectual capital essential for progress across all sectors. To thrust Nigeria toward its rightful place and to fulfil its potential as a leading global economy, we must prioritise the revival and substantial funding of higher education.
The present condition of public universities in Nigeria is dire and necessitates immediate attention. Years of neglect, underinvestment, and misguided priorities from successive governments have pushed the higher education system to the brink of collapse. Infrastructure in many universities is dilapidated, learning resources scarce and research facilities outdated. The meagre salaries paid to university lecturers barely sustain them, driving our finest minds to seek better opportunities abroad. This brain drain not only depletes our intellectual reservoir but also prevents us from crafting home-grown solutions to our unique challenges. The issue is exacerbated by the increasing trend of Nigerian students seeking quality education abroad, particularly in the United Kingdom, further draining both talent and financial resources from our nation.
Between 2017 and 2022, nearly 100,000 Nigerian students pursued higher education in the United Kingdom, according to the data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). This alarming trend persists, with approximately 126,713 study visas granted to Nigerian students in the United Kingdom for the 2022/2023 academic year, as reported by statista.com. These numbers represent not only a significant talent drain but also a substantial economic loss to our nation.
Highlighting the economic implications, statistics from SBM Intelligence reveal that Nigerian students and their spouses contributed nearly £2 billion to the British economy in the 2021/2022 academic session only. This underscores the extent of our education system’s inadequacies and the direct economic losses we are incurring.
The eight-month industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in 2022 laid bare these deep-seated issues. Nigerian lecturers sacrificed months of unpaid salaries fighting for the survival of a system in visible decay. Despite their sacrifices, long-overdue wages and allowances remain unpaid, and salaries woefully inadequate for the essential work carried out by these higher educators. Nigeria’s government can no longer remain indifferent if the nation is to realise its full potential.
While private institutions have indeed emerged to address some of the gaps in Nigeria’s higher education system, the majority of our citizens remain unable to bear the weight of exorbitant tuition fees and related expenses associated with private higher education. As of the latest available data, Nigeria boasts about 147 private universities, including about 37 established in 2023. In contrast, there are approximately 52 federal universities, including recent additions such as the Admiralty University in Ibusa, Delta State, and the Federal University of Transportation in Daura, Katsina, alongside 63 state universities, as listed on the National Universities Commission’s website. Yet, despite the rapid growth in the number of private universities, they are currently enrolling only a fraction of the student population. In 2019, the total number of bachelor students enrolled in Nigerian universities amounted to 1,854,261 according to the information published on statista.com. Surprisingly, only about 102,500 of these students found their academic home in private universities, accounting for a mere 5.5 percent of the entire student body. In comparison, roughly 1,206,825 students were registered in federal universities, and 554,936 were enrolled in state universities. These figures reveal that despite the rapid proliferation of private universities, the public sector remains pivotal in providing affordable and quality higher education accessible to a vast majority of Nigerian students. While private institutions play a role in diversifying the educational landscape, they remain limited in terms of capacity and accessibility, particularly for the broader population. A well-funded and accessible public higher education system is the key to ensuring that every citizen, regardless of their socio-economic background, can grasp the opportunities for personal and national growth. Nigeria must, therefore, arise to salvage what is left of her public universities before it is too late.
As an essential first step, the government must immediately settle all outstanding salaries owed to university staff for the eight-month strike period and also release the earned academic allowances due to them which have been owed for many years. University lecturers shoulder a multifaceted responsibility, firmly rooted in a tripod of teaching, research, and community service. It is important to note that when these educators embark on strikes, which they do only after exhausting all other avenues to draw the government’s attention to their grievances, it is the teaching component of their core duties that is temporarily withdrawn, while they remain committed to their research and community services. Payment of the outstanding salaries and the timely disbursement of their hard-earned academic allowances is not just a matter of respecting lecturers’ contributions; it is a crucial step in rebuilding trust between the government and academia after months of impasse.
Looking ahead, it is high time that the Federal Government undertook a significant upward review of the salaries and allowances of university lecturers beyond the recently awarded paltry 25 per cent to 35 per cent raise. Adequate remuneration is a powerful tool in retaining talent and ensuring the best and brightest remain committed to the growth and development of our country. Competitive salaries would make a career in education a more attractive prospect, discouraging the exodus of our best minds, retaining the intellectual capital within our institutions of higher learning, and fostering a sense of ownership in the reconstruction of Nigeria’s higher education system.
However, a focus on salaries alone is insufficient. A comprehensive strategy for higher education funding is needed, even if it requires reallocating resources from less impactful projects. Prioritising the development of educational infrastructure to meet international standards, upgrading research facilities, enhancing learning resources, and improving student welfare are paramount. Our universities must be equipped to produce graduates capable of global competition.
Federal and state governments should collaborate to establish technology hubs, research parks, and innovation centres within universities. These institutions would support commercially viable research addressing local challenges, and partnerships with the private sector can expedite capacity building.
Nations like the United States of America, Germany, South Korea, China, the United Kingdom, etc have invested significantly in their higher education systems and are reaping the benefits. The United States, for instance, is home to some of the world’s most prestigious universities and leads in global innovation. These institutions not only foster ground-breaking research but also attract international talent and investment which significantly bolsters the nation’s economy. Meanwhile, Germany’s commitment to higher education has propelled its workforce to be among the most skilled in the world which serves as an engine for its export-driven economy. South Korea and China, with their emphasis on science and technology education, have transformed themselves into a global leader in technology and innovation. These nations, and many others, demonstrate that quality higher education is a catalyst for economic and social progress, and we must draw inspiration from their successful strategies.
Time is of the essence. Each year lost to negligence results in wasted talent, missed opportunities, and delayed solutions. The seemingly perpetual strikes by ASUU are symptomatic of decades of underfunding in our universities. Both federal and state governments must recognise that higher education is not a luxury but the gateway to 21st-century national prosperity. Budget allocations to universities must reflect this priority. Factories, roads, and bridges may be built, but their potential remains untapped without a skilled workforce to harness it. It is a universal truth that no nation can outgrow the level of its investment in quality education. Prosperity in any sector of a nation’s economy is intrinsically tied to the prioritisation of education. Nigeria’s position in the comity of nations has been shaped significantly by its historical commitment to education. To change the narrative and secure a brighter future, we must redouble our commitment to making our public universities what they should be. It is time to invest in their growth, development, and sustained excellence. Only then can we truly unlock the potential of our nation and build a brighter future for all Nigerians.
The lamentations of our university lecturers may have been stifled in the aftermath of the last industrial action, but their grievances persist, and our higher education institutions remain in dire need of urgent interventions. It is high time we acknowledged the ticking time bomb that is our deteriorating higher education system and the urgency with which we must act. Only bold action can restore Nigeria’s prestige as a centre of high-level human capital development.
The question remains: will the government heed this clarion call?
•Dr Oluibukun Gbenga Ajayi lectures in the Department of Surveying and Geoinformatics, Federal University of Technology, Minna (FUTMinna), Nigeria.
The views expressed in this article are entirely his own and not those of FUTMinna