Prof. Wande Abimbola, the former Vice Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), has warned that Nigeria’s university system is on the brink of collapse unless the Federal Government intervenes urgently with a bailout for academics.
Speaking as a guest on Boiling Point Arena, a monthly interview programme hosted by media professional Dr Ayo Arowojolu and chaired by the Olowu of Owu, Oba Prof. Saka Matemilola, Abimbola lamented that professors in Nigeria are poorly paid compared to their counterparts abroad.
He drew a sharp contrast, stating that his gardener in the United States earns in three hours what a Nigerian professor takes home in a month. According to him, such conditions are not only demoralising but also threaten the survival of the nation’s higher education system. The programme, aired live on six radio stations and Gotv’s NSTV, highlighted Abimbola’s call for urgent reforms to restore dignity, funding and quality to Nigerian universities.
