A new report by the Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership has found that Nigerian universities are among the least transparent in the world, with none of the institutions surveyed publicly disclosing their financial information. The report, titled “A National Embarrassment: Reforming Transparency in Nigerian Universities to Unlock Global Funding and Restore Credibility,” surveyed 64 federal, state, and private universities and found that not a single one published its budgets, audited accounts, or visitation panel reports on its official website.
The Transparency Survey Report also noted that requests for financial records under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act were consistently ignored or outrightly rejected by university administrations. It further revealed that no Nigerian university provided a breakdown of its internally generated revenue (IGR) or how those funds were spent. This culture of financial secrecy, according to the report, has created a major obstacle to progress and has severely damaged the credibility of Nigeria’s higher education sector on the global stage.
Osita Chidoka, the Chancellor of the Athena Centre, described the findings as a profound indictment, stating that the era of excuses for financial opacity has ended. He argued that transparency is not an optional practice but a fundamental requirement for attracting global funding, restoring public trust, and positioning Nigerian universities as credible international partners. He explained that the lack of financial openness drives away potential donors and blocks global collaborations that are crucial for academic growth.
Chidoka emphasized that financial secrecy has become a major impediment to progress, starving the institutions of much-needed resources. He pointed out that while leading universities in other parts of the world operate with a high degree of transparency to attract research grants and partnerships, Nigerian institutions are trapped in a cycle of limited external funding and declining global relevance due to their secretive practices. This, he said, has a ripple effect on the quality of education and research
