The Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCNU) has urged Nigerian universities to move beyond survival and position themselves as centres of innovation, ethical leadership and national development.
The Chairman of the CVCNU and Vice-Chancellor of Igbinedion University, Okada, Prof. Lawrence Ezemonye, made the call at the committee’s 37th Annual General Assembly and Conference in Ilorin, Kwara State.
Speaking on the theme, “Building Resilient Universities for Nigeria,” Ezemonye said universities must develop the capacity to withstand funding instability, industrial disputes, demographic pressures, technological disruption and the migration of skilled academics while maintaining excellence in teaching, research and community service.
He identified governance and university autonomy, financial sustainability, the development of AI-ready institutions, stronger partnerships among universities and other stakeholders, as well as human capital development and staff and student welfare as critical priorities.
Ezemonye stressed that artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies would increasingly shape the future of education and the economy, urging universities to adapt quickly to remain relevant to Nigeria’s young and rapidly changing population.
He also called for stakeholders to move beyond conference resolutions and produce practical recommendations capable of addressing the challenges facing the country’s tertiary education system.
Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu, warned universities to comply with new regulatory guidelines on the conferment of honorary doctorate degrees.
Ribadu said universities must not combine more than three convocations in a particular year and should not confer honorary doctorates on individuals who do not hold a first degree. He also advised universities against honouring serving public office holders, stressing that such recognition should come after they leave office.
In a related development, the Chairman of the Committee of Pro-Chancellors of Nigerian Federal Universities, Prof. Ahmed Yayale Ahmed, urged Vice-Chancellors and Governing Councils to abandon rivalry and embrace cooperation.
Ahmed said effective management of universities requires trust, transparency and a shared commitment between university management and governing councils to ensure institutional stability and good governance.
