Nigeria’s university education is facing an existential crisis, and Professor Adenike Osofisan, the first female professor of Computer Science in the country, is not mincing words about it. In a hard-hitting conversation, she exposes the deep-rooted issues affecting the quality of graduates, the disillusionment of lecturers, and the systemic decay that has left the sector struggling to meet the nation’s workforce demands.
According to Professor Osofisan, one of the primary issues plaguing Nigerian universities is the admission process. “We have so many people in the university system who have no business being there, both students and lecturers,” she states. Many students gain admission through fraudulent means, with parents buying results for their children. She recalls a troubling incident during her tenure as Head of Department at the University of Ibadan when post-JAMB screening exposed glaring academic incompetence. “A student with an A1 in physics could not explain why a pen dropped to the ground when I threw it up. He simply said, ‘That’s the way God made it.’ Another with an A1 in mathematics struggled for five minutes to solve the simplest algebraic equation.”
This deterioration in student quality, she argues, is exacerbated by the declining commitment of lecturers. “Lecturing today is no longer a profession of passion but one of survival,” she laments. Poor remuneration has driven many experienced academics away, leaving behind those who view teaching as a last resort. “In our time, lecturers would be in their offices at 4 a.m., conducting research. Students, too, were equally engaged. Today, lecturers juggle multiple jobs just to make ends meet, and students are hardly interested in learning.”
Beyond the human resource challenge, infrastructural deficiencies cripple effective learning. In computer science classes, for instance, hundreds of students are forced to share a handful of computers. “How can a student master programming in a lab with only ten computers for an entire class?” she asks. Without adequate facilities, practical learning becomes an illusion, and graduates enter the workforce unprepared for real-world challenges.
On the debate between theory and practical-based education, Professor Osofisan insists that balance is key. “If you don’t understand the theory, your practical knowledge is hollow. If you only understand the theory, you remain ineffective. We must integrate both.” She shares a personal anecdote from her time in Georgia during her master’s program. “I was asked to retake some courses, but I declined. They made me take an exam instead, and I passed because my education at Ife had given me both theoretical and practical grounding. That’s why I finished my master’s in 12 months instead of 18.”
Another major concern is Nigeria’s outdated curriculum, which she believes is further worsened by the controversial Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS). “The government brought in people who claim to know everything to dictate curriculum changes. I won’t mention names, but these are strangers to our system. If you ask me, CCMAS should be thrown out the window,” she asserts, emphasizing the need for academia to drive its own reforms.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is another area where she believes Nigeria is failing. “We shouldn’t wait until university to introduce AI education. It should start from the basics, so students enter university already equipped with foundational knowledge.” She warns against the “fire-brigade approach” where policies are implemented without strategic planning. “We do this all the time—jumping on trends without building a sustainable framework. It won’t work.”
On broader education policies, Professor Osofisan critiques the dysfunctional nature of the Nigerian education system, particularly the misplaced priorities in governance. She condemns situations where students stay out of school for weeks due to fasting, calling it “madness.” “The federal government is powerless because education is on the concurrent list. If we had regional autonomy, the Southwest could have become another Singapore by now. But the military destroyed everything with excessive centralization.”
Historical evidence supports her argument. Under the regional government system of the 1950s and 1960s, the Western Region made significant strides in education, industrialization, and economic self-sufficiency. “We need to return to regional governance,” she insists. “Every state now waits for handouts from Abuja instead of generating its own revenue and investing in education.”
Professor Osofisan’s insights highlight an urgent need for systemic reforms. Without addressing issues of merit-based admissions, lecturer welfare, curriculum relevance, and infrastructural decay, Nigeria risks producing generations of unemployable graduates. “Education is the bedrock of national development. If we continue this way, we will remain a consumer nation forever,” she warns.
Her call for change is clear: strategic planning, regional autonomy, and a balance between theoretical and practical education must drive policy reforms.
