Mass Exodus as 239 First-Class Lecturers Quit UNILAG, Former VC Laments
- Immediate past UNILAG Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, has lamented the mass exodus in Nigerian universities over poor funding and salaries
- Ogundipe explained how 239 first-class lecturers from the University of Lagos (UNILAG) left within seven years after they were employed
- The former VC issued a serious warning to the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led federal government that if adequate funds are not provided for the educational sector
Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 5 years of experience covering basic and tertiary education in Nigeria and worldwide
Akoka, Lagos state - At least 239 first-class lecturers from the University of Lagos (UNILAG) left the institution within seven years due to poor salaries.
Immediate past UNILAG Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, said UNILAG retained 256 first-class graduates as lecturers between 2015 and 2022, but only 17 remained in the institution’s employ as of October 2023.
Source: Getty Images
Ogundipe said the first class graduates who were employed but left due to poor remuneration, unconducive working conditions, and low motivation among lecturers.
He made this known while speaking as a guest lecturer at The PUNCH Forum, themed: “Innovative Funding of Functional Education in the Digital Age,” on Tuesday, August 26, 2025.
“At UNILAG, we decided that those with first-class honours should be employed. What is remaining is not up to 10 per cent. All of them have gone. One day, I asked the man in charge to give me this information.
“In 2015, 86 were employed; in 2016, 82; during my time, that is, 2017 to 2022, 88 were employed. As of October 2023, only 17 were on the ground. They have gone. Very soon, in the next 10 years, you will have only females in the universities if something is not done.”
Prof Ogundipe said the universities would, in the next decade, be dominated by women, and poorly prepared candidates would gain entry into postgraduate programmes unless the government adequately funds the education sector.
He noted that both federal and state allocations had consistently remained below 10 per cent, far short of UNESCO’s recommended 15 to 26 per cent.
“Many of us are tired. By the time you get home, there is no light, and the Federal Government is saying they are giving us N10m to access as loans. You can see how our lives have been devalued. Can I use N10m to build a security post?
ASUU shuts Uniuyo, suspends exams over salaries
Recall that the members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) embarked on a nationwide protest.
The ASUU members in the University of Uyo (Uniuyo) in Akwa Ibom state shut down the school and suspended the ongoing examination.
The situation was not different at the University of Abuja (UniAbuja) in the FCT, as lecturers joined the nationwide protest over the 2009 agreement on salaries.
ASUU threatens fresh strike, ‘destroyed trust’
Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that Nigeria’s university lecturers issued a fresh warning of a nationwide strike, citing the Federal Government’s failure to honour key agreements.
ASUU says unresolved issues, including unpaid salaries and poor pension conditions, continue to threaten the future of public universities.
With rallies planned and tensions rising, fears mount over another disruption to the country’s fragile education system.
Source: Legit.ng
