THE HISTORY OF UNIVERSITY IN NIGERIA

Nigeria was set to welcome her first university after fourteen years of unrelenting criticisms of the Yaba Higher College. Following a report from two commissions set up to investigate the practices and principles which should govern university operations in Nigeria, these commissions were set up in 1943 and was headed by Asquith and Elliot. The commissions’ reports favoured the establishment of university in Nigeria and in the year 1948, 104 students of Yaba Higher College was transferred to the University College, Ibadan being the first university in Nigeria, however, this university was totally tied to London academic curriculum until 1962 where it became autonomous and it name was changed to University of Ibadan. From the year 1948 to 1962, the number of universities in Nigeria had increased to five, these include University of Ibadan (1948), University of Nigeria Nsukka (1960), University of Ife, Ile Ife (now Obafemi Owolowo University) (1962), Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (1962) and the University of Lagos, Lagos (1962). In the same vein, University of Benin (UNIBEN) was later established in 1970. These first six universities are usually referred to as the first generation universities in Nigeria.

As a result of an increasing number of secondary school graduates in the country, seven more universities were established in 1975, these universities include University College, Portharcourt, University College, Ilorin, University of Calabar, University College Kano, University of Sokoto, University of Maiduguri and University of Jos; these increased the total number of universities as at 1975 to thirteen, these are usually referred to as second generation universities. Few years after, both state governments and private sector were permitted by law to establish universities in the country and today we have not less than 43 Federal Universities, 47 State Universities and 75 Private Universities in Nigeria.