Intellectual integrity in HE should be paramount, expert says

Nigerian academics must restore the intellectual integrity of the country’s academic institutions. They should also prioritise their roles as agents of progress, Tanure Ojaide, the Frank Porter Graham Professor of Africana Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in the United States, said in a memorial lecture at the end of 2024.

Ojaide also urged intellectuals to end ethnic and religious biases at universities, which he described as a major hindrance to national development. “Universities are plagued by sectionalism and favouritism, reflecting the divisions in the larger society. This must be addressed for academia to play its role in fostering unity,” he said.

Ojaide was the guest speaker at an event in honour of the late Professor Unionmwan Joseph Edebiri.

Intellectuals and society

In a subsequent interview with University World News, Ojaide said he believes that an intellectual possesses a questioning mind, should “constantly disturb, should bear witness to the misery of the world, should be the chief doubter of [non-working] systems, should be provocative by being independent, should rebel against all hidden and open pressures as well as manipulations”.

He raised concerns over why scholars have reneged on their responsibility to society in “energising and influencing public discourse with their bold and visionary socio-political and economic propositions as the late intellectuals Eskor Toyo, Yusufu Bala Usman, Essien Udom, and Omafume Onoge did during their time”.

Nepotism and greed

Ojaide said that the naked pursuit of material acquisition by academics is responsible for “their silence in the face of corruption and [being] cosy with the government of the day”, therefore, bringing questions like: “Na book I go chop?” [pidgin English, translated as, “Is it a book I am going to eat?”].

“Most vice-chancellors of state and federal universities appear to see their five-year tenures as opportunities to amass wealth rather than implement a vision of development for their respective institutions. In many universities, some teachers extort money from students by whatever methods they can devise. They ask students to pay for supervision of their theses and disobeying them could lead to academic persecution.

“Some male teachers harass their female students and punish those that do not succumb to their pressures.”

Ojaide pointed out that sectionalism has played a pernicious role along ethnic, regional and religious lines, claiming that it has become a norm that the appointment of a vice-chancellor or even a lecturer is often based on nepotism, religious or ethnic favouritism, while vice-chancellors appoint acquaintances in various academic and administrative positions, even if they are not qualified.

Ojaide further questioned Nigerian academics’ continued acceptance of appointments from politicians when they know they will not be able to make an impact, especially in a time of general elections in the country.

“Generally, Nigerian federal and state governments want to use the universities to validate themselves and so appoint professors to head many parastatals where they err and so are, themselves, responsible for government’s ineptitude. Take Nigerian elections and the deployment of vice-chancellors and professors to run them: Why should university professors not recuse themselves from participation in electoral duties, knowing too well about the rigging that bedevils the elections?”

He cautioned the governments against approving too many new private universities operated by people who believe these institutions would be lucrative enterprises. Governments should also stop using academics to achieve their whims and caprices to ensure “sanity” in the education system, and national growth.

Governments should step back

Ojaide said the dismal salaries of university lecturers and professors are a major cause of the problems. If university staff were well paid and had adequate funds for research and teaching, self-esteem should increase and unethical conduct decrease, he said.

Ojaide also advocated that Nigeria’s president and his governors should not select university vice-chancellors and governing councils, but delegate that to an independent body. He advised that they reorient the universities towards courses to foster national development.

Sonny Echono, the executive secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, told Tribune Online on 2 January 2025 that the involvement of university leaders and professors in the country’s political activities often hindered academic freedom. In the news report, Echono called for the elimination of undue political interference and financial influence in the selection process of university vice-chancellors to foster quality governance and educational progress in Nigeria.

Academics are compromised

In an interview with University World News, Professor Abdulraheem Yusuf, the director of the Institute of Education at the University of Ilorin, agrees with Ojaide that intellectual integrity – ethical principles and professional standards in teaching, research, and scholarship – was eroding.

Yusuf said: “Selflessness and integrity, which enabled academics of the past to stand for the betterment of people, challenged the government whenever it erred and changed the rot in society, are missing in today’s academics. Everybody is looking for appointments and political positions which have compromised them. Those academics who prioritise integrity are mocked in society.”

He said the government using academics as instruments to exploit society for political gain is unethical, and called it “ridiculous” that vice-chancellors and professors at public universities are recruited by the Independent National Electoral Commission as returning officers in elections.

Yusuf agreed that corruption, nepotism and the lax enforcement of strict “ethical laws” cause intellectual dishonesty, saying that few universities are not guilty in this regard.

He urged academic institutions to enforce stringent ethical policies and measures against unethical conduct, to organise regular workshops and training sessions on research ethics and scholarly writing, and to encourage ethical publishing. He also earnestly asked the National Universities Commission to intensify efforts at monitoring academic practices and enforcing ethical standards.