A combined picture of EKSU land BUK logos0
By Akeem Atoyebi
Nigeria’s higher education sector comes under intense scrutiny following revelation that Bayero University, Kano (BUK) and Ekiti State University have topped the list of institutions with fake professors, according the National Universities Commission (NUC).
Bayero University tops the pack with 20 out of the 100 fake professors, uncovered by NUC, accounting for 20 percent, closely tailed by Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti with 15, and Obafemi Awolowo University with 8 fake professors (15 percent) of the total number of fake professors uncovered.
The University of Ibadan, the first public tertiary institution in Nigeria, and the University of Ilorin both with 11 fake professors, which amounts to 11 percent of the total number are tied on third, while Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, with a record of 10 fake professors, perches on the fourth position on the log.
University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Federal University of Technology, Akure, and Federal University of Technology, Minna, are placed fifth with nine fake professors, respectively.
Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, University of Port Harcourt, and University of Jos, all with eight fake professors, are sixth on the list.
Others include, University of Lagos (UNILAG), which is seventh with a record five fake professors, Covenant University, the only private university listed, with four fake professors, occupies the eighth position, while Usmanu Danfodio University, with two, completes the fake list.
Recall that Abubakar Rasheed, executive secretary at NUC, had, in a bulletin published by the commission in November, said that the fake professors’ details were posted on the commission’s website, forcing it to send the names to the various universities for verification.
The NUC scribe implored the vice-chancellors to ask desk officers to check the list of professors in their respective universities before uploading the same on the provided website.
He emphasized that the war against fake professors was a collective responsibility, asking the vice-chancellors to ensure they have correct statistics of staff, students, and other components in their respective universities on hand.
