May 24, 2026
Dr. Oba Otudeko
By Festus Okonkwo
In July 1947, Kenneth Mellanby arrived in Ibadan to establish what would become Nigeria’s first university. He found, as he later recorded, “no college, no building, no student body, no staff, no governing body.” Six months later, 104 students walked onto a temporary site at Eleyele and began their studies at the University College, built from nothing, in a country that did not yet officially exist.
Seventy-seven years later, that founding wager remains active. Nigeria now has 309 universities. More than two million young Nigerians apply for admission slots each year; approximately 700,000 are admitted. Federal universities depend on the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, financed by a 2% education tax on corporate profits, receiving approximately ?2.86 billion each in 2025, a figure that covers staffing, maintenance, and the growing pressure of student demand.
