Politics and the Establishment of Public Universities in Nigeria: Implications for University Education

Abstract

This paper examines the role politics has played in establishment of universities in Nigeria from the colonial era up to 2010 and the attendant implications of this for the development of university education. The result of the study, through critical analysis, reveals that politics contributed positively in the emergence of the premier university but was wrongly deployed in the creation of more universities. It also discovers that the political motives or interests that informed the expansion of universities created a yawning gap between the real needs in university education and the political expediency for the establishment of universities. Based on the findings, and as strategies or measures for new frontiers in university education in Nigeria, the paper recommends, among other things, that there should be consolidation of existing universities and that the establishment of universities be devoid of vested political interests or considerations.

Keywords: Politics, Interests, Expansion, Implications