EROSION OF ACADEMIC CULTURE IN NIGERIA’S UNIVERSITY SYSTEM

BY PROF B. CHIMA ONUOHA

Organisational culture is a set of key values, beliefs, norms and attitudes shared by organisational members. Research findings have shown that organisational culture is related to organisational success and longevity. When organisational culture is primarily based on adaptability, active involvement, a clear vision and consistency, it helps companies and indeed any form of organisation to achieve growth, visibility, relevance, respect and employee motivation. All these lead to sustainability and further relevance.

Organisational culture varies from sector to sector, in line with peculiarities. It is from this understanding that the university system derives its academic culture. What then is academic culture? It is important to mention _ab initio_ that academic culture derives its potency and sustainability from rules, regulations and century-wide conventions and attitudes from members of the university community (system), particularly lecturers, staff and students. The core academic culture in the university is rooted in teaching, research and community service. This also entails hard-work, dedication, selflessness, innovativeness, ethical conduct, respect for hierarchy and constituent authority, meritocracy, competence and objectivity.

A university should be a “city in the universe” in pursuit of knowledge, character formation, role model, unencumbered by all the inanities in the public sector and society and seek global relevance. Regrettably, all these are being eroded and have become more pronounced in the last two decades in Nigeria. Refer to my articles – “Nigerian University System and Political Exposure”, June 30, 2022 and “Nigerian University System Mirroring the Public Sector and Society”, May 30, 2025.

At this juncture, let’s attempt some of the factors responsible for the erosion of academic culture in the nation’s university system.

1.  *Political Incursion in the University System*

There is no sector of the nation that politicians have not penetrated with their peculiar warped and manipulative expertise and deliberate inefficiency. The university system is not an exception. This has adversely affected the appointment of principal officers and other key personnel. Departments and Faculties hardly make inputs about employment and quality of lecturers or areas of critical needs. Lecturers are simply dumped on departments. Admissions into strategic disciplines are no longer based purely on merit. Major contracts (like TETFUND) are awarded from Abuja and state government Houses, which are equally poorly supervised and approved as having met the specifications by the *zombie* or compromised physical planning units of the various universities. Hence, we are having some structural defective buildings on campuses. Vice Chancellors are more or less subservient to ordinary Directors and/or their _Ogas_ in Abuja or state Ministries of Education which leads to their frequent trips to these places, even for routine matters. Pathetic indeed!

I doubt if such renowned former Vice Chancellors as Adamu Baikie, Francis Idachaba, Emmanuel Emovon, M.J.C Echeruo, Frank Ndili, Jelili Omotola, Olufemi Adebisi Bamiro, Nurudeen O. Alao, Osita Nebo, Ochapa C. Onazi, etc, ever found themselves in the present errand-boy syndrome. There is currently sufficient meddlesomeness from government quarters on the university system. This is not good at all.

2.  *Attitude of Young and Junior Academics*

Increasingly young and junior academics deriving from weak/patronising mode of employment and lack of proper orientation exhibit very poor attitude to work, departmental and faculty meetings, seminars and examinations. They come late to meetings and seminars, do not have the patience to stay throughout the duration of these programmes. Meanwhile, they see Professors staying throughout these activities. When they are joined with their seniors and Professors for examinations, some don’t participate effectively. Some don’t even come for these examinations. Many husbands of the women lecturers are politically exposed or powerful in the society, hence they feel sufficiently protected or immune. Some lecturers from the immediate university communities are outrightly disrespectful to their superiors or are needlessly loquacious. Their traditional or community leaders are readily available to intercede for them when they run into trouble. A good number of these imposed and insultive lecturers are not strong intellectually and productive in terms of publications. And funny enough, during promotion circles, they will start ingratiating themselves to their Professors for undeserving promotional assessments.

3.  *Post-Graduate Course Allocation and Project Supervision*

Many Heads of Departments (HODs) and Directors of academic Centres and Institutes in most universities have the penchant for inexplicable or pecuniary reasons, to allocate courses (undergraduate and post-graduate programmes) to lecturers and post-graduate theses and dissertation supervision, not based on areas of specialisation of the lecturers/supervisors. We have cases where lecturers are assigned courses in which they are not conversant with and do not attend classes the greater part of the semester. The HODs and Directors give themselves supervisees not in their areas of specialisation. In one Centre of a federal university, it was discovered that the Director and his deputy, supervised over 75 percent of the PG students across various areas of specialisation and disciplines (departments). In another Centre, the Director is a co-supervisor for all the students, obviously across many departments. Some HODs and Directors spend time to profile all the PG students and assign the rich or wealthy ones to themselves for supervision. It does not matter if these students are in their areas of specialisation or not. In most cases, the students and the system grossly suffer the consequences of poor teaching and supervision, and the larger society is short-changed because of people’s greed, self-aggrandisement or empire building. Unfortunately, though adults, many PG students do not know their rights. That nobody has the powers to change one’s area of specialisation or research interests, more so when there are other experts in the same department. This needless diversion of students’ chosen areas of specialisation is the main factor responsible for having half-baked graduates in many academic/professional fields in Nigeria. 

Part of a Professor’s core job is mentorship. In post graduate supervision, most times, a Professor is paired with a younger colleague, as part of mentorship. Professors also learn from brilliant junior co-supervisors. These days, young academics are reluctant to be mentored, maybe their path to career advancement is outside the power of the Professor. I will come back to this shortly. The system keeps deteriorating, to the disadvantage of everyone in the society.

4.  *Promotions to Professorial Cadre*

It is no longer news that there is proliferation of Professors in Nigeria. Added to this is the many short-cuts put in place to aid unserious or undeserving academics to become Professors. These include: (1) being a sycophant or praise singer to the Vice Chancellor (Google my article, _“The Concept of VC’s Boys in the University System”,_ August, 2020). The National University Commission (NUC) even published this impactful article in one of their publications. (ii) “Add my name malady”. Many Professors did not participate in the publications that made them Professors. (iii) Use of blackmail and threats, due largely to catchment area or entitlement mentality. (iv) Some Professors are made Professors in specialisations that they are not visible or have made impactful contributions. This can also be possible if the individual is a VC’s boy.

I have many examples to illustrate what I have mentioned above. They are left for my memoire. Let me conclude this section by stating that some persons have been unlucky in this area. While some persons’ Professorial assessments are quickened and released fast, theirs have been delayed or refused to be announced by high handed or gossip-listening or vendetta-driven Vice Chancellors.

5.  *Administrative Positions not Tied to Ranks*

By university laws, regulations and conventions, administrative positions are tied to ranks. Let me tell a short story here. By 2004/2005, Assistant lecturers were Heads of departments and Lecturers II and I were Deans and Directors at Kogi State University, Anyigba, over 90 percent of them without PhDs. The university lost accreditation in virtually all disciplines. It was more of less a glorified secondary school. The Kogi state Government under Alhaji Abrahim Idris (aka Ibro) “begged” a detribalised Nigerian, Professor Francis Sulemanu Idachaba, an eminent agricultural economist, and pioneer Vice Chancellor, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi (1988-1995), to come over as the Vice Chancellor of Kogi State University (KSU), 2005-2008. He gave just one condition to accept the appointment – that was “non-interference from the state government in the management and affairs of KSU”. Desperate, the state government accepted. Recall that it was Professor Idachaba, having schooled in one of the best universities of agriculture in the world – Michigan State University, USA, and consultant to many global organisations on agriculture, wrote the proposal for the establishment of Universities of Agriculture in Nigeria under the regime of General Babangida. The Babangida government also gave him one condition for his proposal to fly, that he headed one of the universities. He refused initially because of his many and more rewarding international engagements. When he observed that his patriotic proposal was to be thrown into the dust bin, he accepted to be a Vice Chancellor. His acceptance gave birth to Universities of Agriculture at Makurdi, Abeokuta and Umudike, in 1988. 

When Idachaba assumed office at KSU, he opened the doors for the employment of senior academics, particularly Professors from all over the country and beyond. They came in good number, including yours faithfully. All those holding positions not commensurate with ranks were removed. They did not find it palatable, but they had to face reality and they started enlisting for their doctorate programmes. We instilled academic culture back to the university. The university returned to what it should be and all lost accreditations regained. 

Regrettably, it is being observed that in some federal universities, very junior academics like Assistant lecturers (without PhDs) and lecturers II are being made deputy directors and directors. This is one of the reasons why some of these prematurely elevated persons find it difficult to respect their academic superiors. And it is a serious, if you like, unacceptable disruption to academic and organisational culture. There are other areas, university staff are favoured undeservedly. They include office spaces and furnishing; official cars; TETFUND sponsorships; and residential accommodations. All these smacks of nepotism, cronyism, reward for sycophancy, ethnicism and other unwholesome factors. How do you explain the fact that a Professor is living in a 2-bedroom apartment while a lecturer I or a principal assistant Registrar is living in a duplex with boys’ quarters? How will persons who have been on “waiting list” for more than 5 years feel when staff who are just one year or less are given residential quarters? Do we expect Professors to be dancing when Professorial quarters are allocated to Lecturer ones or Senior lecturers or far junior administrative officers? Should a Dean of a Faculty or Director in a sensitive Centre without an official car go ahead to do Thanksgiving seeing an administrative officer in less sensitive position with official car? All these misplaced preferential treatments give the beneficiaries the impression of “arrival syndrome”, and result to insubordination and baseless ego trip. And for those denied-discontent, demotivation and alienation. The outcomes - poor attitude to work, low productivity and bureaucratic sabotage.

6.  *Vice Chancellors Behaving Like Politicians*

It is generally agreed, based on antecedents that many Nigerian politicians have narrow mindset, are self-centred and acquisitive. For over two decades, majority of the nation’s local government areas are stagnant because the governors have for all intents and purposes ceased their monthly allocations and periodically appointed hungry lackeys as sole administrators. Elected local government Chairmen have effective and better grip over the affairs of the local areas under their domain and administration. 

Nigeria has the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, has many development plans, technocrats and experts on industrialisation, industrial policies, yet the Vice President Kashim Shettima, and six state governors, ministers and other top government officials visited an industrial zone in Benin Republic (a poorer country), to understudy its industrial strides. Nigerians sees this as a useless jamboree, shameful and waste of the nation’s resources. The impression is that these politicians have nothing meaningful to do in this country, hence, their idle trip to a country less endowed than Nigeria, to earn estacodes? 

Like the politicians, some Vice Chancellors are deviating from the broad-mindedness and humanity academics are known for. They are “thinking and acting big”. They now appoint many aides, drive in convoy and travel frequently to earn estacodes. They are allergic to criticisms, however altruistic or objective and crave for blind loyalty. Decades ago, Vice Chancellors, after serving their tenure, taken and enjoyed their accumulated and sabbatical leaves, returned to their departments and assumed the normal lecturing posture and free with colleagues. And remain unassuming. Recently, they are clearly bigger and richer than their colleagues, have made bigger and more influential friends in the society. They hardly return to classrooms. If some of them return at all, because of their high-handedness or maladministration, they are usually lonely and sometimes in melancholy.  

7.  *Universities Not Employing Their Best Students*

A century-aged university culture or convention is employing their best graduates. It is a veritable form for succession planning and mentorship. Unfortunately, for many years now, universities seem to have abandoned this noble practice. They are unduly influenced to employ less qualified graduates from other universities. The questions are – who will employ your own products? Are universities expressly implying that their graduates are not good enough? This is happening both at the undergraduate and post-graduate degree levels.

Another area that unsettles me as a seasoned academic is employing old persons as graduate assistants. Most graduate assistants are fresh graduates between the ages of 22 and 25. Universities are induced or coerced currently to employ graduate assistants above 40 and 50 years or those that graduated many years ago. Habaa! What is really happening to the nation’s university system?

Let me give my own experience. I was the best graduating student in my department. That earned me two automatic employments at the Imo state government, and graduate assistant, at Abia State University, Uturu (formerly, Imo State University, Okigwe). Before these letters came out, I had gone straight from NYSC for my post graduate studies at University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus (UNEC). The import of my story… While my colleagues – best graduates that got similar offers resumed in September 1986, I resumed in January 12, 1987. Why? My letters were lying there waiting for me. Efforts were made to locate me by all means. Professors A.C Ezejelue (of blessed memory), then Coordinator of School of Business Administration (comprising Accounting, Management and Marketing), Ogwo E. Ogwo and Mr Obioma Iheduru, the admin officer in Establishment Unit (now Prof Obioma Iheduru) insisted that the only condition for the position to be given to another person was that I was located and I rejected it. Good men. Due to my gregarious nature and proneness to activism, I accepted the offer of graduate assistant. In those days, you don’t need to know anybody to get your rights. And people, unknown to you were ready to defend your rights. Oh my God. Can this happen today in Nigeria? Many Nigerians are losing all sense of fairness, justice, merit and humanity. It is important to mention that Professor Ogwo E. Ogwo became my mentor and role model. He later became the Vice Chancellor of Abia State University, Uturu.

8.  *“Banana” Professors*

I wrote an article for more than one year now with the title - “Should Professors Be “Banana” Men”, which is yet to be released. I will do so at the appropriate time, if need be.

A Professor has reached the zenith of his or her career. The implication is that the person should be courageous enough to speak truth to power except if carrying one form of baggage or the other. As Vice Chancellors are increasingly becoming too powerful and dictatorial, correspondingly, we are having Professors become too docile, cowardly and seeking favours from Vice Chancellors - positions, accommodations, admissions, contracts, or simply trying to be VC’s boys. A lot of things are going wrong inside the universities, states, national leadership and the society. And scholars who should speak out or write about them, or get these ills to be corrected are suddenly mute. This should be worrisome and unhealthy to the society. They have been pauperised and degraded over the decades by the nation’s political elites. See my articles - “Degradation and Pauperisation of Eggheads in Nigeria” June 25, 2025 and “Why Academics in Governance Underperform” October 13, 2025. The people and society suffer when the critical mass of development and the intelligentsia fail in their duties and responsibilities to development and humanity. They keep losing their honour and become “banana” men. In the end, everyone becomes a victim of a failed or warped system. Refer to my other articles - (1) As A Man, Have Honour; (ii) “Elitism and Peasant Mentality”, September 9, 2022; (iii) “Urgent Call to Nigerian Professors to Save Public School System”; (iv) “You are Better Than Me, Then Challenge the Ills in The System”, July 2021. 

The nation’s university system has lost such legendary scholars as Ikenna Nzimiro, Femi Awojobi, Eskor Toyo, Patrick Wilmot, Wole Soyinka, Clause Ake, Bade Onimode, Dipo Fashino, Festus Iyayi, etc. Although, most of them belong to the “left wing of the centre” school of thought (or are centre-left scholars/thinkers). 

Recall that Professor Frank Ndili was the 7th Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka – UNN (1980-1985). He was widely described as Africa’s first Professor of Nuclear Physics. Along the line, his global intellectual and professional visibility and achievements got into his head; he became high-handed as an administrator (VC). He was effectively challenged by 9 Professors at UNN (checkout Ndili and the 9 Professors) leading to “a long and controversial investigation by the panel of inquiry”. Some reports also say that he was “ousted by forces within system”.

The Frank Ndili and the 9 Professors narrative takes me to the following questions: Why should many Professors in our universities suddenly become docile or worst still become “banana” men in the face of some autocratic Vice Chancellors or poor administration? Why are they not challenging or even rejecting unqualified lecturers sent to their departments? Why are they not challenging the situations where very junior academics are given positions/appointments meant for senior academics? Why are they keeping quiet when Professorial quarters are allocated to far junior staff? Why are they mute over wrong admission policies? Why are they not furious and get people to be disciplined when students carrying many courses over are graduated by unethical examination officers or heads of departments? What do they do when junior colleagues are frustrating or extorting students thereby demarketing the programmes, departments and university? And why are they not contributing to nation building in writing position papers in aid of governance? What are they really afraid of? Is the tendency by most Professors wanting to be in the good books of the VCs not the reasons why many VCs are suffering from “messianic complex” which have also led to sycophancy, hero worshipping and vain glory? Or can we conclude that “banana” Professors are suffering from Stockholm syndrome from bad Vice Chancellors or poor national leaderships? Too many questions indeed! Let it be stated clearly that Professors are in a position to criticise school administrators regularly, politely and firmly. I am only thinking aloud… 

9.  *The “Big-Boy” Professors*

Another set of persons that are directly or indirectly not helping the university system in Nigeria are persons I call the “Big-Boy” Professors. These are persons that are too comfortable, having made good money (are wealthy) via government appointments, politics, contracts, consultancies or international engagements. They have influential friends and business partners outside the universities. When they perceive or think that a Vice Chancellor, Dean or HOD is not doing well, and do not want to get involved in any form of criticisms against the person, for whatever reasons, they go on sabbatical leave or take leave of absence, adjunctships, etc. Some just come, teach and go home. Sometimes, they simply hand over their courses and projects supervision to junior colleagues. They hardly attend departmental/faculty meetings, seminars or defense. Some do not even attend Senate meetings, matriculations or convocations. They are completely aloof and do not want to be quoted or disturbed. The system loses their wise counsels or inputs.

In concluding this article, it is important I mention _ab initio_ that I have written based on my observations and perspective. It sounds to reason that the write-up has high doses of my idiosyncratic variables. The question - do I have the justifications for highlighting these avalanches of the erosion of academic culture in the nation’s university system? In answering, yes, there may be a little trumpet blowing. The revered Premier of Northern Nigeria - Sir Ahmadu Bello once said that “sometimes it is good to blow one’s trumpet… If you don’t, nobody will blow it for you”. My classmate - Remmy Nwachukwu, said that “if the trumpet is not blown from time to time, it will rust”. This may be necessary at this point-in-time, in that it may serve the Nigerian youths who are in dire need for role models in the country.

All my working career has been in the university system, starting as a graduate Assistant in January 1987 till date. And this span close to four decades. I hold 6 degrees including 5 higher degrees from 5 institutions. I have been visible in administration, labour union and governing council. I have been an external examiner, mostly for postgraduate programmes in many universities; external assessor for professorial and chief lectureship cadres, also in many institutions (had assessed 60 professorial candidates and 3 chief lecturers) and an NUC accreditation veteran. In other words, my assertions about the erosion of many aspects of academic culture in this all-important sector - university system are correct. Anyone who does not agree with me should kindly write his own. And in the process, we will all learn.

Finally, when my article - “The Concept of the VC’s Boys in the University System” was published, I got countless calls from over 40 universities in Nigeria. A lot of people asked me if I came to their universities to know about the existence of the VC’s boys. Many other calls came from abroad. Again, I expect similar calls if this particular article is released today. In other words, a lot of people know that our university system is “going bonkers”. The implication is that all hands must be on deck to start returning the time-tested academic culture back to system, for the benefits of students/graduates, the system itself, development and society.

As usual, I come in peace.  

_*Onuoha, Professor of Management and development activist, wrote from University of Port Harcourt, Sunday, August 9, 2026.*_