THE former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, has revealed that 239 first-class graduates employed as lecturers by the institution left within a span of seven years, citing poor pay and harsh working conditions.
Ogundipe made this disclosure yesterday while speaking at The PUNCH Forum, themed “Innovative Funding of Functional Education in the Digital Age,” held at The PUNCH Place along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
According to him, between 2015 and 2022, UNILAG recruited 256 first-class graduates into its teaching staff.
However, as of October 2023, only 17 of them remained in the university’s service.
He attributed the massive exit to poor remuneration, low motivation, and an unconducive academic environment.
“At UNILAG, we deliberately decided to employ first-class graduates. But today, less than 10 per cent of them are still around. In 2015, we brought in 86; in 2016, 82; and between 2017 and 2022, 88 were recruited. By October 2023, only 17 were left. The rest have gone,” he said.
The former VC warned that if the trend continued, Nigerian universities risked being dominated by women within the next decade, with underqualified students filling postgraduate programmes.
He lamented that young lecturers were increasingly discouraged by poor welfare and worsening infrastructure.
Ogundipe also criticised Nigeria’s chronic underfunding of education, stressing that allocations to the sector at both federal and state levels have remained below 10 per cent, far short of UNESCO’s recommended 15–26 per cent.
He called on lawmakers to pass legislation ensuring that first-generation universities receive at least ₦1 billion annually to rehabilitate dilapidated facilities.
He further urged the government to prioritise education financing while encouraging private sector participation, alumni endowments, philanthropy, education bonds, and partnerships with donor agencies.
“The private sector should see education support not as charity, but as an investment in building the workforce and talent of the future,” Ogundipe said.
He also charged alumni, civil society groups, faith-based organisations, and the media to play active roles in strengthening Nigeria’s higher education system.
Ogundipe, who now serves as Pro-Chancellor of Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State, stressed that education should be regarded as a sacred trust for future generations, urging Nigerians to leave lasting contributions in libraries, laboratories, scholarships, and student mentorship.