By Prof. M.K. Othman
The most gratifying news for the Nigerian university system was the release of the 2027 Times Higher Education (THE) Rankings last week, which placed some Nigerian universities on a higher pedestal than some African, European and American universities.
We can vividly recall that in the 2020 THE World University Rankings, only Covenant University, Ota, fell within the top 500 globally. By the 2023 edition, a broader Nigerian movement was evident, recording the largest improvement in average overall score in Africa among countries with at least five institutions ranked. Twelve of our universities were ranked in the 1000 band, twice the previous number, with the Universities of Ibadan and Lagos in the 500 band.
The 2026 rankings, released in October 2025, listed 24 Nigerian universities, with the Universities of Ibadan and Lagos, Covenant University and Ahmadu Bello University, among others, in the 1000 band. In the September 30, 2026 THE ranking table, Nigeria climbed from 24 universities in the 2026 edition to 29 in 2027.
The University of Ibadan and the University of Lagos preserved their spots in the 801 to 1000 band, the highest inhabited by any Nigerian university, while Bayero University held its place in the 1001 to 1200 band. In the 2026 edition, Ahmadu Bello University and the University of Ilorin both advanced from the 1201–1500 band to the 1001–1200 band. Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Obafemi Awolowo University and the University of Benin each moved up from the band above 1500 to the 1401–1600 band.
First-time entries in the ranking were the University of Maiduguri and Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike. Overall, the 29 ranked Nigerian universities included 19 federal, seven state and three private institutions. As one of the top three universities, Covenant University maintained its winning streak.
When the two rankings are combined, they present a consistent picture: federal universities are not only the foundation of Nigerian research but also the institutions making the most strides, moving up the tables in the Southwest, North-Central, Northwest and Southeast.
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027 is a global performance table ranking 2,297 research-intensive universities across 118 countries and territories. The rankings assessed universities across five core areas: Teaching, Research Environment, Research Quality, Industry and International Outlook, using 17 specific performance indicators.
For Nigeria, the 2027 THE rankings were somewhat validated by the latest release of the AD Scientific Index, refreshed on October 1, 2026, the day Nigeria celebrated its 66th Independence Anniversary. The report of Prof. Peter A. Okebukola, Chairman of the Nigerian Tertiary Education Ranking Advisory Committee (NiTERAC), indicated that Nigeria stands 48th of 221 countries and third in Africa, with 384 institutions and 53,580 scientists indexed, the largest of Africa’s three leading research nations.
Once again, federal universities remain the unmistakable centre of the nation’s research power. The University of Ibadan remains the flagship. It is the only Nigerian institution in the top 1,000 worldwide, ranking 889th out of about 19,800 universities, or in the top 4.5 per cent. Several of the continent’s long-standing research universities, such as Alexandria University, the University of South Africa and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, now rank below it, while it has consistently ranked 14th in Africa.
Federal institutions occupy at least eight of the top 10 spots nationally, including the University of Lagos, Obafemi Awolowo University, the University of Ilorin, Ahmadu Bello University (my amiable Alma Mater, the great ABU), Nnamdi Azikiwe University and Bayero University.
The number of Nigerian colleges rated increased from 257 in the 2024 edition to over 300 in 2026, while the number of Nigerian scientists indexed continued to rise through 2026, indicating a significant expansion of the national presence.
The number of indexed Nigerian scientists increased from 53,214 in November 2025 to 53,372 in January 2026 and 53,580 by October 1st, 2026, according to individual scientist records from the current cycle. Over a longer period, Nigeria’s share of all African universities in the index increased from 23 per cent to roughly 25 per cent, and the number of Nigerian universities ranked increased from 257 in the 2024 edition to between 307 and 317 in the 2026 edition, an expansion of roughly a fifth to a quarter in two years. What an amazing feat!
At the level of individual scholars, the federal system’s power is most evident. Two federal scholars, Mayowa Owolabi of the University of Ibadan and Shafiu Mohammed of ABU Zaria, are among the 800 most-cited researchers worldwide, out of more than 2.6 million indexed researchers. Owolabi, a neurologist with 257,748 citations, ranked first nationally and stands 676th globally. Shafiu Mohammed ranked second nationally with more than 242,000 citations and 776th worldwide. Sixteen of the 22 Nigerian scholars in the national top 25 by citations work in federal universities, including five at the University of Ibadan.
This narrative is heartwarming to university stakeholders in Nigeria, given the negative narrative and hopelessness our university system experienced in recent years before the change of leadership in 2023 at the federal level.
We can recall that Nigeria’s university education, the bedrock pillar of societal development, the breeding ground for tomorrow’s leaders, the epicentre of integrating hypothesis and empirical concepts, a meeting point of theory and practical reality, and a home for creativity and innovation, was decaying due to many years of negligence, underfunding, nepotism and misgovernance.
The Academic Staff Union consistently protested the deterioration of university education, which was worsened by closures. Public universities shut down for nine months (March to December 2020) and eight months (February to October 2022) due to industrial actions by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, protesting the universities’ deterioration.
This shift in narrative reflects the impact of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ongoing education reforms, led by the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, and marks a significant milestone in the Federal Government’s efforts to improve the quality, competitiveness and global visibility of Nigeria’s tertiary education system. Over the last three years, our campuses have enjoyed relative peace and stability, which has directly contributed to the strong 2027 THE rankings and the AD Scientific Index of Nigerian universities and other tertiary institutions.
While commending the Federal Government of Nigeria for its initiative to address the perennial crisis in tertiary institutions of learning, we must also salute the resilience, patriotism and astuteness of academia for their tireless efforts to keep pace with and compete with researchers in other climes.
As we celebrate 66 years of national independence from our colonial masters, we must acknowledge that Nigerian universities are on the rise again, but there is room for improvement. What is changing, why does it matter, and what areas need improvement? To be concluded next week.
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Prof. Mohammed Khalid Othman (MNSE, MNIAE, MASABE, MISTRO), popularly known as M.K. Othman, is a Professor of Agriculture and Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University Dutsin-Ma (FUDMA), Katsina State.
EDITOR’S NOTE:
This opinion reflects the author’s analysis of the 2027 Times Higher Education World University Rankings and the AD Scientific Index 2026. While the piece celebrates Nigeria’s improved global standing, the views expressed are entirely those of the author and do not represent the position of this newspaper.
Part 2 of this piece will be published next week.
