By Ngozi Ekugo
Copyright businessday
Professor Wande Abimbola, former vice-chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, has revealed that Nigerian professors are now earning ‘scandalous’ monthly salaries, as a professor’s income is less than what his gardener in the United States (U.S) earns for just three hours of work.
Decrying the proliferation of underfunded institutions, Professor Abimbola, said he learnt that a professor’s salary was roughly N500,000 a month. Upon conversion, the amount is comparable to the $300 which someone in the U.S. might spend on gardening in a single afternoon.
He stressed that lack of funding is the most critical issue, in a stark warning during a discourse titled ‘Nigerian universities: Tower of crises, citadel of missed opportunities. Can the lost glory be reclaimed?’.
He declared that Nigeria’s university system is on the brink of collapse.
“Nigerian universities are slowly dying before our very eyes. It is a big shame,” he said.
He therefore urged the federal government to implement an immediate bailout for academic staff to revive the nation’s educational standards.
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A decline from glory days
Prof. Abimbola, who was a distinguished scholar and also a former senate majority leader who lectures at a prestigious American university at the age of 92, recounted the decline.
“When I left as vice-chancellor in 1989, our institutions were still at their peak,” he stated. “However, a mere five to ten years later, I revisited the university and was brought to tears by the level of decay. It has only gotten worse since then.”
We must ask our governments why they have been so aloof, simply standing by as things deteriorated to this point. It seems they don’t truly care.”
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“If the government is not interested in supporting these universities, they should just shut them down. It’s a big shame to the Nigerian government,” he asserted.
He expressed deep disappointment at the physical state of the OAU campus, where once-pristine lawns have been overrun by weeds.
The veteran academic also criticised the ongoing establishment of new universities while existing ones remain neglected. “Why are they creating more and more universities when the current ones are not being properly funded?” he questioned.
He called for the Federal Government to urgently establish a Commission of Inquiry to recommend solutions.
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“I believe we’ve reached a stage where we need official recommendations to salvage the system and make things better,” he said.
He also lamented that Nigerian universities, once ranked among the top 500 globally and the top 11 in Africa, have now slipped to positions outside the top 1000.
He attributed this decline to a lack of understanding by government officials about the purpose of a university.
Impoverished professors and stifled research
The consequences of this neglect are severe. According to Prof. Abimbola, professors are now so impoverished that they cannot afford to attend international conferences or contribute to global academic journals.
This has a direct impact on their ability to conduct research.
