Professor John Laah, a geography lecturer at Kaduna State University and member of the Southern Kaduna Professors’ Forum, has called for the establishment of 800 universities to meet the academic needs of Nigeria’s rapidly growing population.
Speaking with journalists on Monday, Laah stressed the urgency of expanding access to higher education, citing projections that Nigeria will become the third most populated country in the world by 2050.
“Nigeria requires 800 universities to meet the academic requirements of our young people, given the growing population,” he said. “As it is now, I am a lecturer in KASU, and we do not admit up to 27% of the students qualified for various courses. If you project this to other universities in Nigeria, it is the same story.”
Laah pointed out the consequences of this shortfall, including a direct link between lack of enrollment opportunities and rising instability in the country. “So many students who graduate secondary school and pass the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination cannot gain admission. If you plot a correlation between instability and banditry with lack of enrollment, you will see a direct relationship,” he explained.
He highlighted the proposed Federal University of Applied Sciences in Southern Kaduna as a step toward addressing the issue. Laah commended Senator Sunday Marshall Katung for pushing the bill to establish the university, which has already passed its first reading.
“If approved by the president, it will be the first and the only Federal University of Applied Sciences in the country,” Laah noted. He emphasized the potential of the institution to stimulate development and provide much-needed opportunities for youth, particularly in Southern Kaduna, where unemployment and social vices are prevalent.
Initially planned for Manchok, the university is now proposed for Kachia due to logistical considerations. “The decision to change the location is a child of necessity. The existing structure in Kachia reduces the cost and removes a significant obstacle to establishing the university,” Laah explained.
He called on stakeholders to support the initiative, which he said would not only benefit Southern Kaduna but also contribute to national development. “Our idea is to have the location within the southern part because it is likely to engineer development and grant our largely unemployed youths productive engagement,” Laah concluded.
