In a shambles, Nigeria’s universities groan as they grapple with the federal and state governments’ stranglehold on their administration. If the authorities concerned will embrace university autonomy, writes Head Education Desk, IYABO LAWAL the public university system may flourish again. In an address on his first day as the leader of his country in 1939, Sir Robert Menzies, the former prime minister of Australia – who is credited to be the father of university education and reform in Australia, asked: “What are we to look for in a true university? What causes should it serve?” Though he provided clues, successive Nigerian governments still find the answer elusive as they continue to ignore the benefits of university autonomy. The best universities in the world, according to recent rankings, are very autonomous. Once upon a time, university education in Nigeria was not associated with the problems of autonomy and control but by the 1970s the calls for autonomy became strident ...