Legal luminary and founder of Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), has cautioned the Federal Government against the continued mass approval of university licences, warning that the trend threatens the future of Nigeria’s education system and overall national development. Speaking during a High Impact Research and Journal Advancement Workshop held at ABUAD in Ado-Ekiti, Babalola expressed serious concern over what he described as the proliferation of substandard institutions lacking basic infrastructure and academic rigour.
Babalola argued that the current wave of approvals prioritises quantity over quality, creating an education landscape saturated with ill-equipped institutions incapable of delivering meaningful learning. He recalled a more disciplined and credible licensing regime during the tenure of Professor Peter Okebukola as Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), when approval processes were rigorous and often withheld for degree programmes in fields like Medicine, Law, and Engineering during a university’s early years.
“In those days, the processes of visitation and accreditation were thorough. No one could gain approval for sensitive courses right at the start. But now, we are seeing the rise of mushroom universities, some without the most basic educational facilities,” Babalola remarked.
The Senior Advocate lamented that the unregulated expansion had severely weakened the NUC’s regulatory authority, thereby compromising its capacity to maintain standards and eliminate underperforming institutions. He warned that the unchecked growth of poorly resourced universities was not only eroding the quality of graduates but also damaging the credibility of Nigeria’s higher education system.
“There are over 270 universities in Nigeria today, with around 200 more proposals under review by the National Assembly. The emphasis seems to be on quantity rather than quality, and this is a recipe for national decline,” he said. “Poor education, in truth, is worse than illiteracy. We must prioritise quality.”
Babalola further stressed that national development, especially through meaningful research, would remain unattainable if the licensing of universities continued without due diligence. He called for a return to stricter standards and accountability in the establishment of tertiary institutions, arguing that robust infrastructure and academic capacity must precede any government approval.
The Nigerian Government has in recent times adopted a strategy of expanding access to tertiary education, with President Bola Tinubu signing several bills into law to establish new federal universities. These include institutions in Osun, Ekiti, and Rivers States, focused on agriculture, environmental science, and technological advancement. In March 2025, the Federal Executive Council also granted provisional licences to 11 private universities as part of efforts to close the gap between educational demand and available capacity.
However, following the surge in approvals, the government announced a one-year moratorium on the registration of new private universities, aiming to allow the NUC to review and reinforce its regulatory framework. The pause is intended to ensure that all new institutions meet essential standards in academic quality, infrastructure, and operational capacity before receiving final approval
