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Motto | In deed and in truth |
---|---|
Type | Public research university |
Established | 1962 |
Chancellor | Alhaji (Dr.) Abubakar IBN Umar Garbai El-Kanemi, The Shehu of Borno |
Vice-Chancellor | Folasade Ogunsola |
Academic staff | 1,736 (2017) [1] |
Administrative staff | 552 (2017) [1] |
Students | 55,000 (2017) [1] |
Undergraduates | 43,784 (2017) [1] |
Postgraduates | 9,070 (2017) [1] |
Location | , Nigeria 6°31′0″N3°23′10″E / 6.51667°N 3.38611°E |
Campus | Urban |
Colors | Gold and maroon |
Website | unilag |
The University of Lagos (UNILAG) is a public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria, which was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the first generation universities in Nigeria and is ranked among the top universities in Africa [2] in major education publications. The university presently has three campuses in the mainland of Lagos. Whereas two of its campuses are located at Yaba (the main campus in Akoka and the recently created campus at the former school of radiography), [3] it's college of medicine is located at Idi-Araba, Surulere. [3] Its main campus is largely surrounded by the Lagos lagoon and has 802 acres of land. As at 2024, the University of Lagos admits around 8,500 undergraduate students annually and enrolls over 57,000 students. [4]
A visitation panel, created to look into the affairs of the university between 2016 and 2020 detected cases of financial abuses from top officials and ordered the university to close accounts with commercial banks. [5] On 7 October 2022, Folasade Ogunsola was appointed vice chancellor of the University of Lagos making her the first female to attain such height in the University. [6] [7]
UNILAG was founded in 1962, two years after the independence of Nigeria from Britain. It was one of the first five universities created in the country, now known as "first generation universities". [8] [9] Eni Njoku was appointed as the first black vice-chancellor of the university in 1962, and he remained in office till 1965 when he was replaced by Saburi Biobaku. However, due to controversy surrounding his appointment, Saburi was stabbed by Kayode Adams, a student radical who believed Biobaku's appointment was unfair and ethnically motivated. [10]
On 29 May 2012, the then President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, proposed to rename the University of Lagos to Moshood Abiola University in honour of Moshood Abiola, who died in jail as a political prisoner in 1998. The proposed name change became a subject of protests from students and alumni. The proposal was consequently jettisoned as the Nigerian federal government gave in to the protests incited by the proposed name change. [11] [12] [13]
Folasade Ogunsola is the current vice chancellor, she was appointed on 7 October 2022 and assumed office on 12 November 2022. [14] [15]
There has been reports of sexual misconduct levelled against several lecturers at the university which the university denied. In 2019, BBC Africa Eye reported that "female reporters were sexually harassed, propositioned and put under pressure by senior lecturers at the institutions – all the while wearing secret cameras". [16] [17] An investigative documentary was produced by former victims of the sexual harassment which was uploaded to YouTube. [18] [19] [20] As of 2024, University of Lagos prides itself of being among the female-friendly tertiary institutions in the country with more females as principal officers and directors. [21]
University rankings | |
---|---|
Global – Overall | |
CWUR World [22] | 1924 (2022–2023) |
QS World [23] | 1401+ (2024) |
THE World [24] | 1001–1200 (2024) |
USNWR Global [25] | 587 (2022–2023) |
Regional – Overall | |
THE Africa [26] | =25 (2024) |
USNWR Africa [27] | 14 (2022–23) |
National – Overall | |
CWUR National [22] | 3 (2022–2023) |
QS National [28] | =1 (2024) |
THE National [29] | =3 (2024) |
USNWR National [27] | 2 (2022–2023) |
The university has remained one of the most competitive in the country in terms of admissions. With approximately 57,000 students as of 2013, the University of Lagos has one of the largest student populations of any university in the country. [30] [31] The University of Lagos is one of the twenty-five federal universities which are overseen and accredited by the National Universities Commission (NUC).
A recent publication of Forbes magazine ranked the school as the third best university in Africa for entrepreneurship after University of Cape Town and Makerere University, tagging University of Lagos the "startup powerhouse" college for Nigerian students. [32]
The University has been called "The university of first choice and the nation's pride." [33] The university's research activity was one of the major criteria used by the National Universities Commission (NUC) in adjudging the university as the best university in Nigeria at the Nigerian University System Annual Merit Award (NUSAMA) in 2008.
The University of Lagos, College of Medicine is associated with Lagos University Teaching Hospital(LUTH). On 29 June 2020, the university received robots, CRZR, from platform capital as a donation to fight the spread of COVID-19. [34]
Centre for Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Management (CEBCEM) The centre, established in April 2018, focuses on biodiversity management, conservation and monitoring of sustainable ecosystem through collaborative research. [35] CEBCEM provides a platform for research and education for students of tertiary institutions as well as advocate for environmental awareness. The Centre for Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Management is the response of the University of Lagos to the threat of biodiversity in Nigeria. This response includes proposing local solutions to biodiversity conservation challenges which is facilitated through institution research grants such as TETfund. [35]
The current principal members of the university administration and their positions are as follows:
Office | holders |
---|---|
Visitor | President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Bola Tinubu |
Pro-Chancellor & Chairman | Dr. Lanre Tejuosho |
Chancellor | The Shehu of Borno, Alhaji (Dr.) Abubakar IBN Umar Garbai El-Kanemi |
Vice-Chancellor | Professor Folasade Ogunsola |
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics & Research) | Professor Bola Oboh |
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Management Services) | Professor Lucian O. Chukwu |
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development Services) | Professor Ayodele Victoria Atsenuwa |
Registrar | Mr. Ismaila Oladejo Azeez |
Bursar | Mr. Nurudeen Olalekan Ajani Lawal |
University Librarian | Dr. (Mrs.) Yetunde Abosede Zaid |
The university has educated many notable alumni, eminent scientists, politicians, lawyers, business icons, writers, entertainers, monarchs, countless technocrats, recipients of the Nigerian national order of merit, fellows of the various learned academies. As of September 2020, one nobel laureate and one Pulitzer prize laureate have been affiliated with University of Lagos as students, alumni, faculty, or staff. [54]
Amongst the alumni of the University of Lagos, Akoka and other institutions that fall under that banner are;
The University of Benin (UNIBEN) is a public research university located in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. It is among the universities owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria and was founded in 1970. The school currently has two campuses with fifteen faculties including a central library called the John Harris Library. The buildings in UNIBEN are sparsely built, they are not close to each other.
Ilesa is a historic city located in Osun State, southwest Nigeria; it is also the name of a historic kingdom centred on that town. The state is ruled by a monarch bearing the title of the Owa Obokun Adimula of Ijesaland. The state of Ilesa consists of Ilesa itself and a number of smaller surrounding cities.
Lagos State University, popularly known as LASU, is a Lagos state government-owned university established in 1983. Its main campus is situated at Ojo, with sub-campuses at Ikeja and Epe. The university was set up "for the advancement of learning and establishment of academic excellence". The university caters to over 35,000 students. The university was established during the Administration of Late Lateef Kayode Jakande. The university offers diploma, degree and post graduate programmes, including an MBA programme. LASU was ranked among the top 600 universities in the world by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2020. On 23 June 2021, LASU emerged as the best young university in Nigeria having been below the age of 50 years to be added. Times Higher Education ranked the Lagos State University as the second best university in Nigeria on 2 September 2020, and was the only state university included in the rankings for 2022. The university has attracted international funding, including for the establishment of a World Bank Group Africa Centre for Excellence on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is a federal university in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1961 and classes commenced in October 1962 as the University of Ife by the regional government of Western Nigeria, which was led by Samuel Ladoke Akintola. It was renamed "Obafemi Awolowo University" on 12 May 1987, so by the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida led military administration, in honour of Obafemi Awolowo (1909–1987), the first premier of the Western Region of Nigeria, who initially thought of the idea of establishing the university.
Eni Njoku was a Nigerian botanist and educator. He was vice-chancellor of the University of Lagos (1962–1965) and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (1966–1970). He served in the Nigerian House of Representatives as federal minister of Mines and Power, and was chairman of the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria. He was an emissary at OAU-sponsored peace talks.
The University of Jos, abbreviated as Unijos, is a federal university in Jos, Plateau State, central Nigeria.
The Egba people are a subgroup of the Yoruba people, an ethnic group of western Nigeria, a majority of whom are from the central part of Ogun State, that is Ogun Central Senatorial District.
Saburi Oladeni Biobaku CMG (1918–2001) was a Nigerian scholar, a historian who was among a set of Yoruba historians who followed the pioneering effort of Samuel Johnson in setting the foundations of Yoruba historiography and creating reference notes of indigenous African historical literature.
Babatunde Raji FasholaSAN ; born 28 June 1963) is a Nigerian lawyer and politician who served as the federal minister of Works and Housing of Nigeria from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as the minister of Power, Works and Housing from 2015 to 2019. He also served two terms as governor of Lagos State from 29 May 2007 to 29 May 2015.
Akinpelu Oludele Adesola was a Nigerian professor of Surgery, educational administrator and former vice chancellor of the University of Lagos.
Jelili Adebisi Omotola was a Nigerian professor of Property Law, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), educational administrator and former vice chancellor of the University of Lagos.
Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe was a Nigerian professor of Systems Engineering educational administrator and vice chancellor of the University of Lagos. He died from COVID-19 complications on 3 January 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria.
Tolu Olukayode OdugbemiNNOM, OON is a Nigerian professor of Medical Microbiology, educational administrator and former vice chancellor of the University of Lagos, Nigeria. He was the 9th vice chancellor of the University of Lagos.
Babatunde Adetokunbo Sofoluwe was a Nigerian professor of Computer science, educational administrator and former vice chancellor of the University of Lagos, Nigeria. He was appointed vice chancellor of the University of Lagos on 31 January 2010, to succeed professor Tolu Olukayode Odugbemi.
Rahmon Ade bello is a Nigerian professor of Chemical Engineering, educational administrator and former vice chancellor of the University of Lagos, Nigeria.
Kayode Ted Adams was a student activist at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) who became controversial in 1965 after stabbing then-Vice Chancellor (VC) of the University of Lagos, Saburi Biobaku.
Oluwatoyin Temitayo Ogundipe is a Nigerian academic and a professor of botany. He served as the 12th vice chancellor of the University of Lagos from November 2017 to November 2022.
Folasade Tolulope Ogunsola OON is a Nigerian professor of medical microbiology, and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos. She specializes in disease control, particularly HIV/AIDS. Ogunsola was provost of College of Medicine, University of Lagos and the first woman to occupy the position. She was also the Deputy Vice Chancellor of the institution between 2017 and 2021. She was acting vice chancellor of the University of Lagos for a short period in 2020 when the university was plunged into crisis as a result of the removal of the Vice Chancellor by the University Council.
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