Are Nigerian Universities Better Than Their Foreign Counterparts?

CLAIM: Nigerian universities are better than their foreign counterparts.

VERDICT: FALSE

CONTEXT: The senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, stated his belief that Nigeria’s universities are good enough and even better than their foreign counterparts. While commenting at the graduation of Glisten International Academy Abuja, Mallam Shehu, who was also a parent of a graduate, asserted his belief that ‘Nigerian universities are equally as good and even better than foreign institutions.

VERIFICATION: Nigerian universities do not feature highly on all university rankings. Most of these rankings use various criteria, including teaching, research capacity, international diversity, sustainable funding and alumni stature. Most rankings place the highest ranked Nigerian universities in the 1001-1250 category, which is well below the top spots that are occupied by foreign universities.

Sadly, most universities in Nigeria are public-owned and affected by strikes carried out by the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

WHY WE FACT CHECKED THIS: This claim was fact-checked to provide facts to claims made by public office holders to improve the reputation of their office.