The University of Lagos (UNILAG) has lost almost 60 per cent of its academic staff in the last five years, with about 1,800 lecturers resigning from the institution in search of greener pastures. According to the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, the university currently has only 1,200 lecturers, including professors, senior, and junior academic staff, on its nominal roll.

The situation is similar across Nigeria’s universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, and monotechnics, as many academic and non-academic staff have migrated abroad for better opportunities. The exodus of lecturers from UNILAG mirrors a national trend popularly referred to as the Japa syndrome, which describes the mass emigration of highly skilled professionals.

Ogunsola lamented that the university is now relying on adjunct staff to supplement the acute shortage of lecturers. “Even at 3,000, we were not enough. So, you can imagine the situation now with this acute shortage,” she said. The university has been forced to adopt virtual learning mode for the first semester of the ongoing academic session due to the shortage of lecturers and major renovation works at the students’ hostels.

The situation has significantly increased the faculty-student ratio to as high as 1:60 against the global benchmark of 1:16. A student of the university expressed frustration with the virtual learning option, citing network issues and poor live streaming.

The Nigerian government seems unconcerned by this significant threat, as successive administrations have continued to grant approvals for new universities despite the acute shortage of staff in existing institutions. Between 2011 and 2021, former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari approved the establishment of several new tertiary institutions. President Bola Tinubu’s administration has also approved 67 new tertiary institutions, comprising 22 universities, 33 polytechnics, and 12 colleges of education.

A former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Professor Olufemi Bamiro, attributed the staffing challenge to poor workers’ welfare and the government’s failure to review the agreement entered into with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other university workers’ unions for over a decade.

The ASUU National Vice President, Chris Piwuna, described the government’s practice of overseeing recruitment processes for universities as a flagrant breach of autonomy. “What does the head of service or the ministry of education have in terms of knowledge of the university system?” he asked.

Ogunsola said the university has made submissions on the issue of recruitment for consideration and approval, noting that the process for recruitment is currently being coordinated by the Federal Ministry of Education.