A Historical Appraisal of the Aftermath of Politics on Autonomy and Control in Nigerian University Education: The Case of National Universities Commission

Abstract

The origins of university education in Nigeria were not associated with the dialectics and problems of autonomy and control but by the 70s the calls for autonomy in many spheres of the nation’s university system was on the crescendo. Indeed, the search for autonomy in Nigerian university system has been a protracted concern for the university community but every effort aimed at securing autonomy, particularly in the area of academic freedom, has not achieved any absolute result. Thus, the need for autonomy has remained an unending quest in Nigerian university education. This paper is directed at establishing the political circumstances that remotely contributed in the circumvention of the autonomy of the universities in Nigeria via the National Universities Commission (NUC).The paper notes that the extant regulatory functions of the NUC covertly or overtly stifles the autonomy of university education. Therefore, it advocates for a return to the initial mandates of the NUC if universities are to gain back the internal control and autonomy they once enjoyed.

Keywords: politics, control, interference, autonomy,