Prof Mike Ozekhome SAN
INTRODUCTION
The inaugural installment of this treatise was foundational, commencing (suitably enough) with an overview of relevant terms (“University”, “education” “societal/human capital development”, “innovation ecosystem”, “etc). We later develved into a brief history of universities and tertiary education in general worldwide. Today, we shall continue same focusing on Nigeria as an entity. Enjoy.
THE HISTORY OF UNIVERSITIES AND TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS GLOBALLY (Continues)
Universities and the Scientific Revolution
By the 17th and 18th centuries, universities had become laboratories of scientific discovery (https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldhistory2/chapter/the-popularization-of-science/> Accessed on 8th September, 2025). Figures such as Galileo, Newton, and Descartes advanced theories that challenged established doctrines. Universities shifted from preserving old knowledge to producing new insights that fueled the Industrial Revolution. While continental universities in Italy, Germany, and Scotland became central to scientific teaching and research, the English universities of Oxford and Cambridge remained more conservative, with much of the scientific activity shifting to metropolitan institutions like the Royal Society. Nevertheless, the scientific revolution fundamentally redefined the university’s role as an engine of discovery.
The German Research University and the Modern Model
The 19th century introduced another pivotal model: the German research university, most famously represented by the University of Berlin under Wilhelm von Humboldt (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldt_University_of_Berlin> Accessed on 8th September, 2025). This model emphasized the unity of teaching and research, academic freedom, and the pursuit of truth for its own sake. It gave birth to the modern research university, where laboratories, libraries, and seminar systems became central. This template spread globally and remains the backbone of contemporary higher education.
Africa’s Pioneering Intellectual Heritage
Although the structures of modern higher education in Africa are often associated with European colonial frameworks (https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1079222.pdf> Accessed on 8th September, 2025), it is misleading to assume that advanced learning began only with colonial intervention. Long before the imposition of Western-style universities, Africa nurtured sophisticated systems of education at multiple levels, ranging from informal community instruction to highly organized institutions that rivaled, and in some cases preceded, their European counterparts.
One of the earliest and most celebrated centers of scholarship on the continent was the Academy of Alexandria, sometimes described as the Universal Museum Library, which flourished between the 4th century BC and the 7th century AD. This institution served as both a repository of knowledge and a vibrant intellectual hub, attracting scholars from across the Mediterranean and beyond. Within its walls, philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and literature were studied in ways that shaped intellectual developments far beyond Africa’s borders.
Africa also gave birth to universities that remain monuments of global intellectual history. The University of al-Qarawiyyin, established in 859 AD in Fez, Morocco, is widely regarded as the oldest continuously operating degree-awarding university in the world. Not long after, in 970 AD, al-Azhar University in Cairo (see: Times Higher Education, “Al-Azhar University”, https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/al-azhar-university > Accessed on 8th September, 2025) was founded, growing into one of the most influential centers of Islamic learning. Both institutions not only preserved knowledge but also generated new streams of thought, producing scholars whose works shaped jurisprudence, philosophy, theology, and the sciences across Africa, the Arab world, and Europe.
In West Africa, the city of Timbuktu (see: Emnet Tadesse Woldegiorgis, “The Changing Role of Higher Education in Africa: A Historical Reflection” Higher Education Studies 3(6) ), rose to prominence between the 12th and 16th centuries as one of the world’s most important centers of learning. The famed Sankore Madrasah and other scholarly institutions attracted thousands of students who engaged in studies ranging from law and theology to astronomy, mathematics, and medicine. The thousands of surviving manuscripts from Timbuktu attest to a sophisticated academic tradition that connected Africa to a global network of learning.
Equally remarkable is the intellectual legacy of Ethiopia, which developed a distinctive scholarly tradition anchored in its unique script, Ge’ez. For over 2,700 years, Ethiopia maintained systems of elite education within monastic schools, theological academies, and royal courts . This enduring heritage emphasized literacy, history, philosophy, and religious thought, ensuring that Ethiopia remained one of the most resilient centers of indigenous knowledge on the continent.
Taken together, these examples demonstrate that Africa was by no means a passive recipient of education. Rather, it was a pioneer and custodian of intellectual traditions that shaped civilizations both within and beyond its borders.
HISTORY OF UNIVERSITIES AND TETIARY EDUCATION IN NIGERIA
The history of university education in Nigeria began with the establishment of Yaba Higher College in 1930 (Yusuf Adulrahman, “Historical-Chronological Emergence of Universities in Nigeria: The Perspectives in ‘Colomilicivilian’ Periodization” https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342247766_Historical-Chronological_Emergence_of_Universities_in_Nigeria_The_Perspectives_in_’Colomilicivilian’_Periodization accessed 7 September 2025, the first institution of its kind in the country. At the time, other forms of post-secondary training were also introduced in government departments—such as agriculture at Moor Plantation in Ibadan and Samaru near Zaria, veterinary science at Vom, and engineering in Lagos. The Yaba College offered courses in fields like civil engineering, agriculture, medicine, surveying, teaching, and later, commerce and forestry. Its main purpose was to train Africans for junior administrative and technical roles, thereby reducing reliance on expensive European expatriates.
However, the college faced criticism, particularly from Nigerian nationalists. Its goals were seen as narrow compared to a full university; its diplomas lacked international recognition; and its graduates were limited to junior posts, unlike their British counterparts who advanced to higher civil service levels. This fueled stronger agitation for a true university in Nigeria.
In response, the Asquith and Elliot Commissions of 1943 were set up to review higher education across West Africa (N.Okoji, “The History and Development of Public Universities in Nigeria Since 1914” International Journal of Education and Evaluation 2(1) 2016). While the majority recommended three new university colleges (in Ibadan, Achimota, and the Gold Coast), the minority proposed a single college at Ibadan with regional feeder institutions. With the Labour Party’s victory in Britain, the minority view was adopted. Thus, in 1948, the University College, Ibadan, affiliated with the University of London, was established as Nigeria’s first university-level institution.
Further expansion came after independence. The Ashby Commission of 1959 projected Nigeria’s manpower and educational needs and recommended broader access to higher education. Following its proposals, several universities were founded: the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (1960) (Nigeria’s first autonomous university with an American orientation) followed by the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University, 1962), Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (1962), and the University of Lagos (1962). By the same year, the University College Ibadan became a full-fledged university. Collectively, these five institutions are known as Nigeria’s “first-generation universities.”
Expansion continued with the University of Benin in 1970, later recognized by the National Universities Commission. During the Third National Development Plan (1975–1980), the federal government created seven additional universities—at Calabar, Jos, Maiduguri, Sokoto, Ilorin, Port Harcourt, and Kano—known as the “second-generation universities.” (ThisDayLive, “Endangered Universities: The Way Out” https://www.thisdaylive.com/2022/08/29/endangered-universities-the-way-out/ accessed 07 September 2025)
By the 1980s, with the creation of 19 states, the federal government sought geographical balance by approving universities of technology in states without federal universities (see: Bolupe Awe, “Quality and Stress in Nigerian Public Universities” 2020 American Journal of Educational Research 8(12). This marked the further spread of higher education across Nigeria, solidifying the university system as a central pillar of national development.
To be continued…
