By Prof. Abdelghaffar Amoka
I know Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK), to some extent. In fact, part of the reason I submitted a sabbatical application there in 2024 was to get to know the university better, though I did not receive a response.
From what I know, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, is one of the fastest-growing universities in Nigeria. I have friends there. I also have very close associates pursuing their PhDs there, and they are doing very well.
A major reason for the university’s steady rise is something many people do not talk about enough: since its creation, successive governors of the state have largely allowed the university’s administration to breathe. That kind of non-interference matters. Universities grow when politics does not sit permanently on the neck of scholarship.
Its proximity to Abuja also gives it an undeniable advantage. Patronage from the capital is high. In fact, from some parts of Abuja, NSUK is easier to reach than the University of Abuja.
Now to the uncomfortable part.
The graduation of a very large number of PhD candidates naturally raises questions. It should. In a country where too many people now chase titles over scholarship, any university that produces large numbers of doctoral graduates will attract scrutiny. That scrutiny should not be treated as hostility.
Every university has strong PhDs and weak PhDs. That is the truth. No institution is automatically exempt. Personally, I have not yet encountered a weak PhD graduate from NSUK, which is why I did not rush to join the noise.
But let us be honest with ourselves: when academics raise questions about standards, it should not be dismissed as envy, malice, or institutional rivalry. It should be seen for what it ought to be — a call to tighten the loose nuts before the system becomes attractive to those looking for the cheapest possible route to a title.
There is no doubt that we are a people that is in love with titles. That is why you will see an HND holder who is a political appointee with a name and titles like Chief Dr Hajiya XXXX. But with the recent decision of the Federal Executive Council on the misuse of the Dr title by honorary doctorate awardees and the prohibition of awarding honorary doctorates to serving political officeholders, the quest for the cheapest possible route to a PhD for the Dr title will increase. Meanwhile, the integrity of these degrees is in our hands.
As academics, the university system is our immediate constituency. For decades, academics have fought governments to prevent the collapse of Nigerian universities. It would be a tragic contradiction if we were now to become participants in the internal erosion of the very system we once defended against external destruction.
Our degrees must mean something. Our universities must remain places where scholarship is earned, not merely awarded. Whether we admit it or not, the quality of our young people in the future is being shaped in our lecture rooms, laboratories, and supervision meetings.