The Vice Chancellor, Federal University of Technology Akure FUTA Professor Adenike Oladiji has advocated for universities to revert to their status as citadels of civility, and sustain the values for which they were established. She stated this position at the 8th Registry Annual lecture of Elizade University on the 5th of December 2025.
Speaking on the theme , “The Nigerian University System: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” she said ” The university is, fundamentally, a centre for knowledge generation, teaching, and learning. It stands as the pinnacle of the educational system, entrusted with the noble mandate of producing the manpower that drives innovation, governance, and economic growth. In its ideal form, the university represents the universe—an inclusive environment where the young and the old coexist, where all genders and professional backgrounds converge, and where diversity fuels creativity and understanding”.
Oladiji said “Universities serve as incubators of essential life skills: They are designed to be growth-oriented institutions, and because of their impact on society, they rightly command tremendous respect
The university, by design, is a world of its own—an ecosystem of ideas, innovation, and human capital development. If we collectively renew our commitment, work with sincerity, and uphold our shared values, we will not only restore dignity to our institutions but build the university of our dreams”.
Professor Oladiji however decried the downsides of the university system stating that “even as we celebrate these strengths, we must confront the uncomfortable realities—the bad aspects and the ugly—those deeply troubling tendencies that threaten the very foundation of the universities and weaken our institutions.such as inadequate funding, critical manpower shortages., misuse of , autonomy, politicizing of academic issues , Industrial disputes that disrupt academic calendars, the massification of university education, indiscriminate award of honorary degrees—particularly to individuals who do not meet the ethical and intellectual criteria. Fake admissions, declining institutional reputation, excessive localisation of universities, and the promotion or reward of loyalty over merit, abuse of unionism, examination malpractices, grade sorting, sexual harassment, the proliferation of degree mills, and in some cases, the mishandling or loss of sensitive student information. These practices not only tarnish the university but erode public trust”.
She emphasized the pivotal role of the Registry in this transformation highlighting that “The Registry remains the bridge between staff and students, the custodian of records, the engine of administrative order, and the stabilizing force that ensures continuity and coherence in the university system”
Expressing hope, Professor Oladiji said , despite these challenges, our institutions still retain a semblance of order, of sanity, of purpose. It is this residual strength that gives hope for renewal. The task before us is clear: we must return to a culture of excellence. We must reposition our universities to regain the respect they deserve. We must learn from one another, uphold merit, strengthen leadership, and recommit to the foundational values of scholarship and service . If we abandon the ideals that academic leaders are meant to uphold—integrity, accountability, excellence—we risk losing the essence of the university”.
Chairman of the occasion and former Pro Chancellor, Federal University, Lafia, Basorun Seinde Arogbofa, OFR lent his voice to the need to tackle identified decadence and rot in the tertiary education system calling for an over haul to make the coming generation see education as valuable to their lives and future.
The Vice Chancellor of the host University Professor Sunday Adeyemo commended Professor Oladiji for the cerebral delivery of the lecture describing her as an astute administrator whose imprimatur of excellence was visible all over the Federal University of Technology Akure. He said the lecture title was apt and an invitation to examine the achievements within the university system, identify persistent shortcomings that hinder growth and consider practical ways to address them.
Earlier, the Registrar of Elizade University, Mr. Omololu Adegbenro said ” The University is a solution center. It is through scholarly exchanges like this that we reaffirm the potency of intellectual inquiry as a vehicle for reform , both within and beyond the academy. The vibrancy of the university system depends on the quality of conversations we hold and the commitment with which we implement the ideas generated”.
Registry staff , administrators and leading academics from various universities graced the event.
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