Former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, has urged the Federal Government to stop installing failed politicians and other unqualified individuals as heads of Nigerian universities.
Speaking during the 3rd Abdullahi Mahadi Annual Memorial Lecture at Gombe State University (GSU), Jega cautioned that such politically motivated appointments are damaging academic standards and eroding the integrity of higher education across the country.
Delivering a lecture titled “Challenges and Prospects of Improving University Governance in Nigeria,” he stressed that leadership positions in universities should be reserved for competent, experienced, and visionary academics, rather than political loyalists lacking the knowledge and capacity to manage higher institutions.
Jega noted that persistent political interference in the recruitment of vice-chancellors, governing council members, and other senior officials has worsened governance challenges, encouraged poor decision-making, and deepened the decline in the quality of Nigeria’s tertiary education.
“A university is a specialised intellectual environment,” he said.
“It cannot flourish when leadership positions are turned into political rewards for people who failed at elections or lack academic credibility.”
He called for transparent, merit-based, and competitive selection processes to ensure qualified scholars are appointed to steer university affairs.
Without insulating institutions from politics, he warned, Nigeria risks continuing to graduate students who are inadequately prepared for national development.
The memorial lecture was held in honour of the late Prof. Abdullahi Mahadi, a former Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, and the pioneer Vice Chancellor of GSU.
The gathering brought together academics, policymakers, students, and other education stakeholders, many of whom echoed Jega’s call for urgent reforms to restore credibility to university governance.
In his remarks, GSU Vice Chancellor Professor Sani Ahmed Yauta praised Mahadi’s legacy of dedication and leadership, and expressed appreciation to Jega, the event’s chairman Professor Umaru Pate, and other dignitaries for their continued support to the university and the lecture series.
