Nigeria is home to some of the best universities in the world. Some of them have graduated top important political figures and literary geniuses in Africa, such as Chinua Achebe, Christopher Okigbo, and Dora Akunyili.
If you want to know which university is the best university in Nigeria you must look back at the history of each of the top universities in the country, when they were established, and the achievements they have so far. We guarantee you; you will come up with quite a good number of them on your list.
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Many of the universities in Nigeria are top-notch, but nevertheless, in this post, we will present to you some of them that are the highest on any list and the best of best.
But first, let’s take a look at what makes an ideal university, what makes it to become one of the best universities in Nigeria?
The answer to this question is quite simple, you know by looking at their current infrastructure and what they offer students.
For example, how many courses do they offer, and do they have advanced courses? What type of educational technology do they implement in teaching their students? Etc.
Asking these questions will enable you to determine if a school is worth being called among the top universities in Nigeria.
Let’s dive in and see what really makes a university ideal.
Some of the best universities in Nigeria have great infrastructure, from building infrastructure that enables students and staff to live in a conducive environment, to other educational infrastructure that will enable students to learn using the latest methods and techniques.
A university is often dependant on its infrastructure to be a good university, for instance, a library building that has all the collections of books and journals necessary for students to study is part of what makes a university among the best.
Many of the top universities in Nigeria not only have libraries, but some are also equipped with controlled ecological environments for growing rare plants, some of the best universities in Nigeria have medical facilities, research facilities, well-equipped laboratories, and so on.
One of the tell-tale signs of a great university is the number of courses it offers students on admission. The more courses they offer and the more variety, the better.
Often, the best universities in Nigeria have around 10-20 faculties and offer about 50 or more courses. They teach different subject disciplines in the arts, sciences, languages, tech, etc.
For instance, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria is considered one of the best universities in Nigeria, they offer more than 90 courses.
How much attention does the university give to integrating technology into its teaching methodology? In the 21st century, we all acknowledge how important technology is to learning, so you will know if a university in Nigeria is one of the best depending on how much edu-tech is integrated into the university.
They have great-looking functional websites, and e-learning facilities, and staff that are trained on using them.
Still, on the matter of technology, some of the best universities in Nigeria have what it takes to conduct classes online. One may say, after all that happened in the pandemic, it is a necessity.
With or without the pandemic, universities that offer online classes are way ahead of the line and are considered among the best universities in Nigeria.
While in the university, one is going to spend a lot of money, from feeding to accommodation to handouts, you name it. Learning isn’t cheap when it comes to getting a degree and other post-graduate certificates.
So getting a university that helps reduce and mitigate the costs is ideal.
This is a short list of some of the top five universities in Nigeria. They are not in any order or ranking.
The University of Lagos is one of the most renowned universities in Nigeria and the world. It was founded in 1962, and it is a Federal Government university located in Lagos state with three campus locations.
The University of Lagos is ranked among the top universities in the world.
This is one of the oldest universities in Nigeria, in fact, it is the first university in Nigeria. It was founded in 1948. Back then, it used to be a college as part of the University of London, but it gained independence in 1963.
The University of Ibadan has 17 faculties including science, medicine, and arts. It has contributed greatly to the economic, political, and cultural heritage of Nigeria thanks to the thousands of great citizens it has as its alumni, including the famous Chinua Achebe we mentioned earlier.
This university is considered one of the best universities in Nigeria for many reasons. It is the first indigenous university in Nigeria, and it was established in 1955 by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe himself.
It has extensive courses anyone can choose from and boasts 15 faculties located across three campuses, one of which is a teaching hospital. The University of Nigeria has over 200 post-graduate programs under its belt.
This is also one of the top universities in Nigeria, there is no list of best universities in Nigeria without the famous ABU Zaria on the list. It is a great center of learning and research and was established on 1st October 1962, just two years after Nigeria’s independence. It is in Kaduna state.
Named after the famed Sir. Ahmadu Bello, who was leader of the Northern region historically. Ahmadu Bello University has one of the best vocational and remedial courses in the country.
This university in Nigeria is recent compared to the others, but it has won its place among some of the best universities in Nigeria. It is ranked number 2 among all the universities in the country.
The Covenant University is a top private university in Nigeria and was founded in 2002 by a Dr. David Oyedepo. It is a largely Christian university with its ideals geared towards raising good Christian citizens.
Covenant University is highly IT-based, and it even won an award for Best Centenary ICT Driven University in 2014, among many other awards.