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The Federal Government Government has expressed its determination to reposition the Nigerian University system and restore its old glory were many of the institutions would rank among the 100 to 200 top universities in the world. Minister of Education, Dr. Olatunji Alausa disclosed this ambitious agenda of the government on Monday in Abuja, where he formally inaugurated the African Centres of Excellence (ACE) Alliance, designed as an umbrella body for all 20 African Centres of Excellence being hosted in 17 Nigerian universities. Recall that in 2014, the first phase of the Africa Centres of Excellence (ACE) was launched as a regional World Bank-supported higher education programme designed to promote regional specialisation among participating universities within the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Agriculture, and Health thematic areas. Nigeria hosts the highest number of the Centres under ACE Impact, with 17 Centres focused on areas including maternal and child health, cybersecurity, sustainable power, dryland agriculture, food security, and digital science. The project was conceived by the World Bank in partnership with participating governments, the Association of African Universities (AAU) and co-funded by Agence Française de Développement (AFD). Following a 10-year run, the ACE Project officially closed on 30 June 2025 and to ensure that its gains are sustained and scaled, the National Universities Commission (NUC) conceived the idea of the ACE Alliance to provide a platform for consolidating the collaborative efforts of the ACE, harmonising stakeholder engagement, and sustaining the momentum of the project’s development impact. Speaking at the official launch of the ACE Alliance and unveiling of the ACE compendium, the Education Minister highlighted remarkable achievements of the ACE project and its contribution to the internationalization of education in Nigeria. ALSO READ: Nigeria facing health workforce crisis amid global shortage — Minister “From the report before me, the Nigerian ACs have attracted students and faculty across Africa, fostering cross border knowledge exchange and positioning Nigeria as a regional hub for excellence. “This aligns with a broader agenda to integrate Nigeria into the global education data system, ensuring that our institutions are recognized and ranked amongst the best worldwide. “A lot of work needs to be done, and I can tell you, we have a government that is serious and supportive about bringing back our institution to the old glories, where many Nigerian universities can be ranked among the top 100 to 200 universities in the world,” Alausa stated. He added that the ACE project has therefore positioned Nigeria not only as a consumer, but also as a provider of high quality transnational education. Earlier in his overview of key achievements of the ACE project in Nigeria, the National Project Coordinator, Dr. Joshua Atah, disclosed that in terms of revenue, Nigerian ACEs have earned $145.2 million through Disbursement-Linked Indicators (DLIs). In addition, he said the Centres have collectively generated more than 3.9 billion, $46.3 million, €1,78 million, and 12.6 million from local and international sources, reflecting progress toward sustainability and entrepreneurship. “These earnings were invested in the development of the centres/their host institutions, scholarships, publications, national and international accreditation, benchmarking, and many other indicators, in accordance with the World Bank’s guidelines,” Atah stated On academic enrolment, he revealed that so far, about 45,160 students have been enrolled in the ACEs’ programmes, comprising both national and international students. He explained that this figure includes 1,402 international students (422 female, 980 male) and 9,639 national students (3,980 female, 5,659 male). He added that graduate-level enrolment includes 10,810 students (covering both MSc and PhD students while 27,297 participants have completed short professional and technical courses. On regional integration, the ACE project Coordinator disclosed that the Nigerian ACEs have attracted students from countries including The Gambia, Ghana, Niger, Cameroon, Liberia, Sudan, Mali, Sierra Leone, Chad, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Malawi, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Rwanda, and Kenya, saying this enhances the host universities’ profiles in terms of internationalisation of higher education and regional integration. “The Centres have produced 6,615 graduates to date (1,596 PhD and 5,028 MSc). More than 5285 faculty and students have also completed industry-focused internships, strengthening the academia-industry link “Nigerian ACEs have produced 4,237 publications in recognised journals. These publications involved both faculty and students, a significant number of them co-authored with regional collaborators. This underscores research-led capacity building,” he stated. The Executive Secretary of NUC, Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu said the story of the ACE Project is a story of transformation; not only of institutions, but of mindsets and possibilities, saying this has shown that when vision meets commitment, and when partnership meets accountability, African universities can lead Africa’s development agenda. NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
