Professor Wahab Egbewole, the vice chancellor of the University of Ilorin, has criticised the brain drain problem plaguing Nigeria’s higher education system.
He also mentioned the risks of understaffing as well as the insufficient resources impeding the smooth operation of Nigerian universities.
Professor Egbewole acknowledged that “some of our best eggs are leaving the country in droves” at a global news conference on the 37th and 38th convocation ceremonies of the university, where 25,234 students will graduate, with 450 in the First Class division.
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Invoking the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s perspective on life and education as consolation, he claimed that the university administration had demonstrated that nothing could stop their dedication to learning and advancement.
The vice chancellor pleaded with the administration to “tear the mask of retrogression, servitude, social inequality, mediocrity and indignity in our university and the nation at large.”
“We have 14,477 students for the 37th convocation ceremonies in the 2020/2021 academic session, and 10,757 students for the 38th convocation ceremonies who are in the 2021/2022 academic session,” he stated.
The academic year 2020–2021 produced 211 first-class graduates, while the academic year 2021–2022 produced 239 first-class graduates.
Although the institution’s economic resilience and prudence have been put to the test by the multiplier effects of the removal of the fuel subsidy, Professor Egbewole said, “I must deliver on the mandates given to me and the dreams of the founding fathers of this university.”
