Do you know the best Federal universities in Nigeria? The country, Nigeria is in the west of Africa it is made up of thirty-six states and federal capital territory, with the success that was brought about by the mining of crude oil and also its sale, tertiary has gotten to almost all regions and sub-regions of the country.
Formerly it’s the state and federal governments who have the right to build and own universities but recently licenses have been given to private organizations, individuals and religious bodies to run their own universities in the country.
Tertiary education in the country is made up of polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of education. Nigeria has one hundred and fifty-three universities that are accredited by the National University Commission, although private individuals and organizations own sixty-eight universities from the total number as of August 2017.
The requirements for getting admissions into universities in Nigeria are SSCE/GCE O level exams credits with the maximum of sitting for the exam twice, meeting the cut-off mark required in the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board exam and in some cases, students also write exams in the school of their choice.
In February 2021, the creation of twenty new private universities was formed under the Federal Executive Council.
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Top 10 Best Federal Universities In Nigeria
10. UNIVERSITY OF JOS
This university is also shortened to UNIJOS and it is situated in Jos, Plateau. The first students were pre-degree students in the year 1972 and in December 1973 it started the Bachelor of Arts Degree program. It is one of the best universities in Nigeria and the second-best university in the north.
The university was established as a separate institution in October 1975, the first chancellor of the school was Professor Gilbert Onuaguluchi and classes began in October 1976 with five hundred and seventy-five students, the university began offering postgraduate programs in 1977.
9. UNIVERSITY OF BENIN
The University of Benin came into existence in 1970 but started as an Institute of Technology, and became a university after it was accredited by the National University Commission on the first of December 1971.
The university has fifteen faculties, two campuses and a central library, the school has also grown with the establishment of new faculties, institutes, departments, and units that offer diplomas, certificates, postgraduate and undergraduate degree programs.
The School of Medicine in the University of Benin is made up of three schools which are the School of Medicine, School of Basic Medical Science and School of Dentistry.
8. FEDERAL UNIVERISTY OF TECHNOLOGY AKURE
The Federal University of Technology is based in Akure and was established in the year 1981 mainly because the Nigerian government wanted to build more universities in the country that don’t just educate the citizens theoretically but also practically.
The university formed the School of Computing in 2018 because it wanted to meet the needs of some of its departments that were in need of the knowledge of Computing Science.
The first Chancellor of the university was Alhaji Zulkamaini Gambari Mohammed who was then the Emir of Ilorin, and the Late High Chief DR Gabriel Akin Deko was the first pro-chancellor and also the chairman of the governing council.
7. FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY MINNA
This university is specialized in Technological Education and the university is a known center for excellence in biotechnology, genetic engineering and has a foothold in drugs and vaccines. The university was created in 1983 with the vision of making Nigeria self-reliant in engineering, science and technology.
The first vice-chancellor of the university was Professor J.O Ndagi who tenure was from 1983 to 1990. The main campus of the university is Gidan Kwano which is about ten thousand, six hundred and fifty hectares of land.
6. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN
This university is the oldest university in the country and is five miles from the city of Ibadan in Oyo state. It has thirteen faculties which are College of Arts, Medicine, Science, Agriculture and Forestry, Dentistry, Public Health, Law, Technology, Pharmacy, Veterinary Medicine, Education, Renewable Natural Resources and Social Sciences.
Some Alumni of the university includes Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Ken Saro Wiwa, J.P Clark, Farida Waziri and others, the university has about fifteen halls of residence for students and also has sports facilities for staff and students.
5. UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA NSUKKA
This university is located in Nsukka Enugu state, the founding father is Nnamdi Azikiwe in the year 1955 and was opened officially in December 1960. The school has three campuses notably in Enugu, Nsukka, and Ituku-Ozalla, all in the state.
The University of Nsukka is the first land grant university in Africa and has fifteen faculties and one hundred academic departments, it also offers the service of eighty-two undergraduate programs and two hundred and eleven postgraduate programs.
4. OBAFEMI AWOLOWO UNIVERSITY
This university was known formerly as the University of Ife in Osun state and was created in the year 1962. It is one of the largest universities in Nigeria in terms of landmass its land coverage is eleven thousand eight hundred and sixty-two hectares.
3. AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY ZARIA
This is a government research university situated in Zaria, Kaduna state. The university was established in December 1962. Ahmadu Bello University has a huge medical programme and it owns Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital which is one of the biggest in Nigeria and the continent.
The university was named after Alhaji Sir Ahmadu Bello, the first northern premier of Nigeria and the then Sardauna of Sokoto state.
2. UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN
The university is located in Ilorin the capital of Kwara state. Some alumni’s of this university are Femi Adebayo, Nkem Owoh, Sarah Alade, Ezekiel Adebiyi, Abdul Rasheed Na’Allah and Johnson Bamidele Olawunmi.
It was one of the seven universities that were formed by a decree of the military government in 1975 in order to provide educational opportunities for Nigerians to gain tertiary education.
1. UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS
The University of Lagos was created in 1962 and has over fifty thousand students. The university has lots of faculty like the Faculty of Arts, Pharmacy, Education, School of Dental Sciences, School of Basic Medical Sciences, School of Clinical Sciences, Law, Business Administration, Sciences, and Social Sciences.
Some alumni’s who studied at the University of Lagos are Chike Obi, Akin Euba, Lawrence Gower, Olufemi Majekodunmi, Lazarus Ekwueme, David Aradeon, Teslim Olawale Elias, Solomon Babalola and a host of others.
CONCLUSION
This list is based on unbiased metrics and compiled using web metrics gotten from independent web sources, as of today some of these federal universities face some challenges like not enough financing, university autonomy, lack of adequate infrastructure and brain drain. One of the solutions to these challenges is for the government to give more funds to these universities which help them raise the standard of education.
