Former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, has revealed that no fewer than 239 first-class graduates employed as lecturers left the institution within a seven-year period due to poor remuneration and unfavourable working conditions. Ogundipe, who disclosed this while delivering a lecture at The PUNCH Forum in Lagos, said the university had recruited 256 first-class graduates between 2015 and 2022, but only 17 remained as of October 2023. He described the exodus as a major threat to the future of Nigeria’s education system.
Giving a breakdown of the figures, the former VC said 86 first-class graduates were employed in 2015, 82 in 2016, and 88 between 2017 and 2022 during his tenure. However, he lamented that fewer than 10 per cent were still in the system. According to him, low motivation, lack of infrastructure, and unattractive salaries forced many young academics to abandon university teaching for better opportunities within and outside Nigeria. He warned that unless urgent reforms were made, Nigerian universities risked being dominated by women in the next decade, while unqualified candidates could soon fill postgraduate programmes.
Ogundipe further criticised the federal government for chronic underfunding of the education sector, stressing that allocations have consistently remained below 10 per cent of the national budget, far short of UNESCO’s 15–26 per cent benchmark. He argued that this neglect has left universities with overstretched facilities, poorly paid staff, and dwindling research support, while Nigeria continues to lead the world in the number of out-of-school children, estimated between 10 and 22 million.
The former VC, now Pro-Chancellor of Redeemer’s University, urged government, private sector, and alumni to embrace innovative financing models such as public-private partnerships, endowments, education bonds, diaspora investments, and philanthropy. He emphasised that education funding must go beyond infrastructure to include research, technology, teacher welfare, and student development. He also called on legislators to enact a law mandating that each first-generation university receive at least N1 billion annually to tackle decayed infrastructure.
Ogundipe appealed to alumni, civil society, faith-based groups, and donor agencies to step up support, while challenging the private sector to view investment in education not merely as corporate social responsibility but as a strategic investment in Nigeria’s workforce and future markets. “Above all, to every Nigerian, let us see education as the most sacred trust we must pass to our children,” he said, urging collective responsibility in addressing the sector’s challenges.
