According to Nivo News, the immediate past Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, has disclosed that 239 first-class graduates who were employed as lecturers left the institution within seven years, largely due to poor pay and harsh working conditions.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Professor Ogundipe revealed that between 2015 and 2022, UNILAG recruited 256 first-class graduates as academic staff, but by October 2023 only 17 remained in service. He lamented that less than ten per cent of the elite scholars the university had painstakingly retained were still on the ground, warning that if urgent reforms are not introduced, Nigerian universities may face a severe talent drain.

Speaking on Tuesday as a guest lecturer at The PUNCH Forum, themed “Innovative Funding of Functional Education in the Digital Age,” Ogundipe explained that the exodus reflects widespread dissatisfaction among young academics. He described how inadequate remuneration, devalued living standards, and a lack of motivation have forced many lecturers to seek opportunities abroad or in other sectors.

“Many of our colleagues, especially the young ones, are frustrated. When you return home after work there is no light, and the government is offering ₦10 million loans — yet you wonder if such money can even build a security post. Our lives have been devalued,” he said.

The former UNILAG VC also warned that unless the situation improves, universities could soon become female-dominated while underqualified candidates infiltrate postgraduate programmes. He criticised the chronic underfunding of education, noting that Nigeria’s budgetary allocations to the sector have consistently remained between 4.5 and 7.5 per cent from 2015 to 2025, far below UNESCO’s recommended 15 to 26 per cent.

With Nigeria now estimated to have between 10 and 22 million out-of-school children — the highest figure globally — Ogundipe called for a law mandating at least ₦1 billion in annual funding for each first-generation university to rehabilitate decaying infrastructure. He urged government and stakeholders to adopt innovative financing strategies such as public-private partnerships, alumni endowments, education bonds, philanthropy, EdTech investments, and diaspora-driven funding.

“UNESCO regards innovative financing as essential to bridge the $100 billion annual education funding gap in low and lower-middle-income countries,” Ogundipe noted. “The private sector must view education not just as corporate responsibility but as an investment in tomorrow’s workforce and markets. Alumni at home and abroad must also give back to the institutions that built them — through donations, mentorship, endowments, and advocacy.”

Now serving as Pro-Chancellor of Redeemer’s University, Ogundipe further appealed to civil society, religious organisations, the media, and international agencies to sustain the push for education reform. He emphasised that education should be seen as “the most sacred trust” passed to future generations.

“Our fingerprints and names should be in the library buildings, the digital labs, the scholarships, and in the lives we help to transform,” he concluded.

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