At least 239 lecturers with first-class honours recruited by the University of Lagos (UNILAG) between 2015 and 2022 have left the institution, driven by inadequate salaries, unconducive working conditions, and low motivation, the immediate past Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, revealed during The PUNCH Forum .
Prof. Ogundipe disclosed that UNILAG originally retained 256 first-class graduates in that period, but by October 2023, only 17 remained on staff, lamenting that “What is remaining is not up to 10 per cent… They have gone” .
He warned of a looming gender imbalance in academia, forecasting that women may dominate university staffers in the next decade if reforms are not implemented. He also raised concerns about poorly prepared candidates entering postgraduate programmes .
Highlighting chronic under-funding, Ogundipe noted that both federal and state allocations consistently remain below 10 percent—well short of UNESCO’s 15–26 percent recommendation—and urged lawmakers to mandate at least N1 billion annual funding for first-generation universities .