Elizade University hosted its 8th Annual Registry Lecture at the weekend, drawing academics, administrators and education stakeholders to a gathering that quickly transformed from a scholarly convergence into a hard-hitting critique of the nation’s troubled university sector.
The Chairman of the event, Afenifere chieftain and elder statesman, Basorun Sehinde Arogbofa, set the tone with an unflinching indictment of government’s role in what he described as the rapid deterioration of Nigeria’s tertiary education system.
According to the former Secretary-General of Afenifere and pioneer Pro-Chancellor of the Federal University, Lafia, “the decay of the Nigerian university system is a direct result of government’s ineptitude.”
Arogbofa, speaking calmly but emphatically, identified chronic underfunding, poor welfare for academic staff and persistent political meddling in the appointment of key university officials as core factors weakening federal and state-owned institutions. He said the cumulative effect of these failures has eroded the prestige once associated with Nigerian universities.
He, however, applauded the vision of the Founder of Elizade University, Chief Michael Ade. Ojo, noting that his commitment to quality education has produced a model institution. He described the university as evidence of “what is possible when excellence, not politics, drives education.”
The keynote address was delivered by the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Professor Adenike Oladiji, who offered a candid assessment of the country’s tertiary education landscape. Her lecture, titled “The Nigerian University System: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly,” acknowledged opportunities for academic advancement and socio-cultural integration but warned that these gains are overshadowed by worsening systemic failures.
She pointed to inadequate funding, manpower depletion aggravated by the Japa syndrome, governance abuses, declining dedication across stakeholder groups, politicized appointments, recurring industrial crises and the unchecked proliferation of universities without proportional investment.
Calling for reforms, Oladiji urged stakeholders to retrace their steps toward the values that once defined Nigerian academia. She reminded participants that the university remains a structured system designed to uphold excellence and insisted, “The Registry is at the centre of all university activities.”
Acting Vice-Chancellor of Elizade University, Professor Sunday Adeyemo, commended the Registry Division for sustaining professionalism and administrative quality within the institution.
“Each edition of the Annual Registry Lecture reinforces the indispensable role of the Registry in institutional development and effective university governance,” he said.
Registrar of the university, Mr. Omololu Adegbenro, earlier described Elizade University as a natural “solution centre” driven by inquiry, research and innovation. He said the lecture’s theme mirrors the harsh realities confronting Nigerian universities, including funding instability, governance disputes, infrastructural decay and the demands of a fast-changing global knowledge economy.
He added that engagements of this nature strengthen the sector’s resolve to pursue reforms anchored on intellectual discipline.
By the close of the lecture, one message stood out unmistakably: Nigeria’s university system is at a defining moment, and its future hinges on decisions made by those in authority. Yet, within the walls of Elizade University, amid candid reflections and bold criticism, one sentiment prevailed, the nation’s intellectual community is far from surrendering.
0 Comments