Life of an academic in Nigeria, By Godwin Sogolo

This paper is a modified version of the presentation I made at an In-House Interactive Forum of the Faculty of Arts, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), on Monday, 12th May, 2025, at the Faculty of Arts Theatre, University Headquarters, Jabi – Abuja FCT. The modification was prompted, a week after presentation, by the pathetic story of a former colleague at the University of Ibadan, Victor Anosa, a retired Professor of Veterinary Medicine. Professor Anosa’s regret was that in retirement, he – like many of his other fellow retirees – was depending on his children for a living, “after 35-40 years of service to a most ungrateful and unthinking nation that disdains her geniuses and celebrates mediocrity” (Punch Newspaper, Thursday, 23rd May, 2025).

Professor Anosa is an acclaimed scholar, not known for trivial utterances. Therefore, he was not merely whining but speaking seriously and truthfully about the agonising plight of tens of thousands of retired professors who live in abject poverty. I should say that the Professor is luckier than many of his colleagues who retired with absolutely nothing in hand, except old age – no money, no children to rely on, and no home to move into! Nonetheless, he was speaking for a category of men and women who are respected in other climes – and who were once treated with respect and dignity in Nigeria. The question is: Who are these men and women? Who is an academic, and what does it take to be an academic?

Permit me to adopt a working definition here, which is that an academic is a person whose profession is to seek and propagate knowledge – normally, through research and teaching in an institution of higher learning. And, the highest position attainable in the career is professorship. The mission of the academic is to train young generations of men and women, equip them with knowledge and skills, and socialise them into society. This is done by cleansing the individual of destructive instincts – greed, viciousness, aggression, and so on – thereby making the person a functional member of society.

From the outset, I should say that there is no one model that is the best model for an academic life. Nor is there a manual that teaches young lecturers how to be a good academic because the circumstances of every individual are always unique to that individual. Also, the academic profession has been transformed over the years, while institutional structures, programmes, and goals have been changing from one generation to another.
It was Plato, the legendary Greek Philosopher, who, in 387 BC, established the first structured learning Institution in Athens, historically known as The Academy, conceived as an intellectual hub for knowledge dissemination, research and training of future leaders. This was the model inherited by early European universities, such as Bologna, Paris, Oxford, etc., not only in structure but also in ideas, principles, and goals. Needless to say that contemporary universities have changed remarkably from the original Greek model.

Advertisement

The universities imported from Europe to colonial Africa had their structures close to the earlier models. Thus, the University College, Ibadan, established in 1948, was an institutional model copied from the University of London with traditional disciplines in the humanities, natural sciences, and medicine. For Ibadan, in those days, there were no professional or vocational courses such as journalism, banking, engineering, accountancy, etc., which were, at the time, seen as crafts better left for trade schools or technical institutions, certainly not for universities!

Today, all that has changed, with many universities – including even the most reputable of them – running skills-related programmes and vocational courses such as business administration, computer science, security studies, peace and conflict resolution, etc. Another major transformation in the university system has been in the method of instruction in which the traditional face-to-face lectures are rapidly being replaced by the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) mode. The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) is a leading institution in this transformation. Also, digital technology has transformed research and scholarship to a new level. As against huge manual libraries, with rolls of thousands of books in hard copies, through which the researcher must sift – laboriously in search of data and information – whatever the researcher needs today is packed in a smart phone, accessible from anywhere.

There can be no doubt about the requirements for academic success in conventional universities, especially in the humanities. They include intellectual creativity, critical thinking, discipline, resilience, dedication, and behavioural comportment. In contrast, an ODL institution would prioritise technical skills and the digital proficiency of a tech-savvy.

As young men in secondary schools, we used to think that there were certain background/socio-cultural qualities needed to succeed in the academic world; meaning criteria such as genetic inheritance, family background, material status, etc., there are no such laid-down requirements. In Nigeria, for instance, there are no rigid class divisions so much so that movement from one social category to another is fluid. In other words, children of the poor can become rich based on their own efforts while those of the rich may turn out to be poor if they fail to utilise their potential. Similarly, experience has shown that some children of the very famous, wealthy, and highly influential persons in society have turned out to be lazy, wayward, unserious, and, therefore, absolute failures in life. Many children of renowned scholars are known to have been academic failures while those of stark illiterates have achieved remarkable success in scholarship. Such is the fluidity of the Nigerian social structure.

Overall, the academic profession is not meant for every Tom, Dick and Harry. It is usually the preserve of the best in intellect, which explains the practice in many reputable Universities to restrict postgraduate admissions to only candidates with first class or second class (upper division) degrees who eventually join the academic fold. And, if a candidate was not good enough, he or she went into other areas, including the armed forces, politics, or business. That was the pecking order at the time. The choice of discipline is, of course, entirely circumstantial, depending on the peculiarities of an individual’s background and experience.

As Plato made clear in his discussion of the division of labour in The Republic, being an academic demands intellectual rigour, determination, and hard work. In the journey, there is no short- cut: what you sow is what you reap, and you cannot have your cake and eat it, meaning that the academic world is not for men and women who indulge in a life of leisure, and at the same time expect to accomplish goals that require seriousness, dedication and hard work.

In the public space, there are many misconceptions about the academic profession, for instance, that: the academic is always a poor man or woman; that the scholar – especially at the professorial level – is always untidy, unkempt or weird in look, or that academics are stingy people. These characterisations of the academic are not true; indeed, many of them are the unfounded creations of the human imagination, especially among Nigerians.

The claim, for instance, that the academic is always a poor person, is a misapplication of terms which, unfortunately, some Nigerian academics themselves suffer from. The plight of Nigerian academics is not whether they are rich or poor; it is simply that they are not adequately remunerated to cater to their basic necessities. Herein lies the major difference between Nigerian academics and their counterparts elsewhere in the world where academics are paid enough to cater for their basic needs. In fact, a successful academic is he who, by training, has been able to curb the raw instinct to acquire things that are not needed. It is, therefore, an aberration to think of an academic amassing, for instance, billions of naira, fleets of cars, or mansions. Indeed, any young man who joins the academic career, with the mindset of living the best of two worlds – being academically productive and simultaneously acquiring wealth – has missed his way?
Back to Professor Anosa’s lamentations, I should say that the debasement of the worth of the Nigerian academic is not new, although the situation has grown worse in recent years. As far back as 1982, the great Nigerian mathematician, Professor Adegoke Olubummo, saw the first signs of the deliberate devaluation of the worth of the Nigerian academic, first by military leaders and later by politicians. In his valedictory lecture, titled: “The Emergent University”, the renowned Professor regretted the declining appreciation of the academic, asking in a simple mathematical quip, if, indeed, “that’s all it adds up to”.

Professor Olubummo’s regret was that an increasing number of the graduates produced by him were being attracted to the banking industry and manufacturing sector while only a few of them were accepting his offer to join the academic profession. He also observed that many of those who had rejected the ivory tower were exhibiting signs of affluence, driving flashing cars, and building mansions in the choice areas of Nigeria’s major cities. Even more regretful, the professor was finding it increasingly difficult to attract the best of his graduating students into the academic profession.

Olubummo’s observations, unlike the lamentations of Anosa, were not about money; they were about the erosion of the dignity of the academic profession. He and his other colleagues, at the time, were still perceived to be at the highest echelon of society, in social status, prestige, and even in material terms. True, Nigerian professors were among high court judges, full military generals, permanent secretaries, etc., who topped the consolidated salary scale of the federal government. So, by all accounts, professors
were never so poor that they couldn’t cater for their own basic needs. However, Olubummo saw emerging signs of debasement and disrespect, coming from government officials, especially the military in power.

Many of the acclaimed scholars, who made Nigeria proud in the 1960s-1990s, were at the University of Ibadan. In fact, some of them were foundation students of the university when it was established in 1948 as a College of the University of London. The names should be familiar – Professors Oladipo Ogunlesi, Oritsejolomi Thomas, Cyril Onwumechili, Olumbe Basir, Victor Oyenuga, Pius Okigbo, Kenneth Dike, Emmanuel Emovon, and many other academic legends, all of whom, sadly, have passed away.
But there are many other seasoned academics, still alive, although uncelebrated by Nigeria and Nigerians, including Professor Adetoun Ogunsheye (98), first female Professor in Nigeria; Professor Emeritus Ayo Bamgbose (93), father of linguistics in Nigeria and Foundation President (FP) of the Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL); Professors Bolanle Awe (92); Mark Nwangwu (92) and A.B.O Desalu (93). These were among the men and women of the Nigerian premier ivory tower who toiled relentlessly with their foreign colleagues of all races – blacks, whites, browns, and other shades of human colours! – to make Ibadan truly international in reputation.

The professors we knew and sought to emulate, as young men in our days, were noble in character and respected, nationally, and internationally. Not only were they regarded as sources of wisdom, but they were, indeed, revered as “living ancestors”, endowed with privileged knowledge. When they spoke, younger colleagues listened with rapt attention; and their word was authoritative. Above all, then and even now, the average professor has always been an epitome of simplicity and modesty; humble, descent, unassuming, moderate in need, and thrifty in spending. The academic is not driven by excessive acquisitive urge or greed, even in a hostile environment such as Nigeria.

Generally, the academic career is full of challenges, many of which are the consequences of the instinctive urge, in many practitioners, to want to reap the benefits of the profession, without the required discipline, hard work and dedication. One common challenge, for instance, is when a young academic researcher has to go through the harrowing experience of confronting a difficult supervisor. These are the earlier hurdles and sad moments during which an academic is totally consumed in despair, depression, self- pity, and the temptation to surrender his career ambition!

There is also the agonising “publish or perish” syndrome, which, in the traditions of almost all academic institutions, is an acceptable practice. Every academic has no choice but to come to terms with the fact that scholarly publications play a major role in the assessment of a practitioner’s suitability on the job. Then, there are various lures, pitfalls and temptations, including: the lure of the material world, greed, acquisitive urge, corruption, etc; pitfalls of emotional desires, sexual urge, indiscipline and problems of sexual harassment, known to have derailed many young academics, especially in the Nigerian academic environment.

There is also the challenge of delayed or unfulfilled life expectations, such as marriage, childbearing, property acquisition, etc., which are either delayed or not fulfilled at all. At the University of Ibadan, for instance, the academic is comfortably housed in official staff quarters, with all the necessary utilities adequately provided – electricity, water, good access roads, market, etc. Anybody familiar with the university campus at Ibadan can testify to a self-sufficient community, almost insulated from the immediate environment of the sprawling City of Ibadan. The official provisions are so comfortable that most academics fail to prepare for retirement. And when, finally, they retire, they move out into the harsh Nigerian environment, the way they came in –empty-handed!

Even more challenging is an academic’s responsibility of educating his children. In Nigeria, an average family, with 2-3 children, is saddled with the task of having to pay millions of naira (far beyond their meagre earnings) as school fees. And, by the time the couple finishes educating their children, both are close to retirement age and unable to do anything for themselves. Then, there are all sorts of distractions, including undue involvement in university politics, national politics, or political appointments, which are the major obstacles that derail the ambitions of many young academics in Nigeria.

Everywhere in the world, the academic community is a microcosm of the larger society, meaning that the situation that obtains in the in the larger Nigerian society always rubs off on the nation’s academic community – the challenges of politics, crimes, corruption, inefficiency, social inequality, ethnic tension and many more. Also, the Nigerian academic, being human, is not insulated from the rest of the people and shares in all the imperfections that afflict other Nigerians. It is only natural, therefore, that the academic community has its own share of social deviants and misfits. Today, the academic profession in Nigeria has become so unattractive that instead of recruiting first-class graduate into its fold, it now admits those with the weakest records. A large number of academics, already in service, are frustrated, ill-motivated, and, therefore, not as productive as expected.

The harsh realities of the Nigerian situation have driven many sound academics into believing that the choice of an academic career is a mistake. However, in comparison with the larger Nigerian society, the academic community is still a model of sanity and decency. I believe that, in spite of the chaos, frustrations, and pervading sense of hopelessness in Nigeria, the life of an academic remains the best. From personal experience, I know that it is a journey that is full of excitement and joy. Indeed, many see intellectual satisfaction as an end in itself, something close to spiritual fulfilment. I can still remember, as a first-year undergraduate in 1968, the indescribable feelings I had when we were first exposed to the creative articulation of Aristotelian syllogism and the fallacies we commit in our day-to-day conversations. Such is the intellectual joy or knowledge for its own sake, as it is often described. This kind of intellectual fulfilment exists almost in all disciplines, whether pure or applied. Beyond this satisfaction, academics have practically transformed the world into the wonders that it is today.

It is only in an academic community that one experiences the best of humanity, comprising unwritten rules, values, and behavioural norms into which all young men and women deserve to be socialised. It is within such a community of scholars that there are all kinds of freedoms – freedoms of choice, speech, movement, worship, and the freedom to do your job, when and how you like – and something at your own pace! In an ideal academic community, there is no master-servant relationship, whether you are an assistant lecturer or a professor. It is among academics that individuals are perceived as equal and treated equally, where you do not need to bow or prostrate before anybody, except to express traditional forms of respect and greetings that have nothing to do with official status or position.

In all societies, the academic is perceived as belonging to a privileged class; always respected, or even revered as society’s precious treasury of knowledge. Indeed, being an academic earns you respect, honour, integrity, recognition, and even material comfort, if adequately compensated! Above all, academic life is that of eternal contentment, joy, and fulfilment. And, if you are looking for an example, I am a living one.

■ Godwin Sogolo is an Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, with a career spanning over 50 years, at the University of Ibadan and the National Open University of Nigeria.