Education and Development

ABSTRACT

This paper argues that Nigerian universities, as they exist today, are unfit for purpose . The programmes and syllabuses of higher education in Nigeria are modelled on western paradigms which are steeped in the godless philosophy and ethos of the Enlightenment and so-called “Age of Reason” while the vast majority of Nigerian students are believers who belong to a richer and far more advanced civilisation which is centred on belief in God . It is the contention of this paper that Nigerian universities must serve society if they are to be relevant . In order to do so, they must successfully address the challenge of the ethos and philosophy underlying higher education, the challenge of the content of education, the challenge of competence and, finally, the challenge of character, the moral character of the students on whose shoulders rest the building and management of the country .

Keywords: Nigerian Universities, Higher education in Nigeria, the problems and challenges of development in Nigeria .