Nigerian University Quality - Why the Hero Fails

Abstract

This paper was designed to take an in-depth look into the establishment and practices of university education in Nigeria from 1960 to 2015, to investigate the reality of what caused Nigerian university education to gradually decline. The paper takes a critical realism approach to reviewing the relevant literature in the field, and forming a base from which to answer the question of ‘why the hero fails’. Three major questions are raised, but not answered, in this paper, as three other papers focus solely on answering these questions. They are; where have things gone wrong? Where are things going wrong? and where may things continue to go wrong? This paper is particular about identifying areas where things are happening within the university sector. The findings reveal that not only is the quality of education declining, but human thinking on tasks, involvement/pro-activeness and funding are also declining, a major reason why Nigerians ignorantly give way to corrupt practices, which slip in like wolves and continue to devolve the system. The paper concludes that the best approach to the wider picture of what is going on within the university sector is to understand, and provide answers to, the three major questions above, in detail. In order to overcome the problems caused, leading to the need to carry out this study, rebuilding is needed using a systematic approach to eradicating waste.