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By Oluseye Ojo
Chairman, Committee of Vice Chancellors of Private Universities in Nigeria, Prof. Kabiru Adeyemo, has urged the Federal Government to create a more conducive environment for private universities to flourish.
To make private universities survive, he urged government to ensure that taxpayers’ money is enjoyed by students and lecturers of both public and private universities, especially in the areas of scholarships and research grants.
Adeyemo, who is Vice Chancellor of Lead City University (LCU), Ibadan, made the call when he addressed journalists on the 20th anniversary of LCU, which began on Monday.
The event featured various activities, including a medical outreach, during which 50 patients were given free surgeries.
According to him, students in private universities should be allowed to enjoy scholarships by assisting them with their school fees through Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) towards alleviating the financial burdens many students face. Adeyemo also made a case for lecturers, proposing that they should have access to similar opportunities to foster a sense of belonging within the academic community.
“The Federal Government should try to create a very good and enabling environment for private universities so that the stakeholders of private universities would be able to survive. The National Universities Commission (NUC), the Federal Government and all other stakeholders must give us a very good motivation, for private universities in Nigeria to definitely survive.”
On the 20th anniversary of LCU that has produced about 25,000 graduates, Adeyemo said LCU has actively engaged in the town and gown initiative by awarding over ₦322million in scholarships to 905 students during the 2022/2023 academic session based on merit and financial need. The LCU, he said, began with a student population of about 4, 000, that has grown to about 20,000 in 2025.
