Nigeria

• INTRODUCTION

Nigeria is located in West Africa. It is bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cameroun and Benin. The Niger River enters the country in the northwest and flows southward through tropical rain forests and swamps to its delta in the Gulf of Guinea. Its total area size is 923,768 sq km. Climatic conditions vary from one region to another. The northern temperature is usually arid while the south and central regions enjoy equatorial and tropical climates, respectively. With a population of 155,215,573million (CIA, 2011), Nigeria is the most populous black nation in the world. The country is composed of more than 250 ethnic groups but the Hausa/Fulani, the Yoruba and the Igbo are the 3 main groups.

GOVERNMENT:  Nigeria gained independence in 1960 from Britain.  Political instability led to a civil war (1967 to 1971). Military regimes truncated subsequent civil government (2nd and 3rd Republics) until a new constitution was adopted in 1999. Nigeria is currently experiencing its longest period of civilian rule since independence despite both the 2003 and 2007 presidential elections being marred by significant irregularities and violence. While the April 2007 general elections marked the first civilian-to-civilian transfer of power, the 2011 elections were broadly acclaimed as free and fair.

ECONOMY: Nigeria is the 4^th largest oil exporter in the world and Africa’s largest oil producer. 95% and 65% of its foreign earnings and budgetary incomes are derived from oil. Nigeria is also endowed with other mineral resources like natural gas, tin, iron ore, coal, limestone, niobium, lead, zinc, arable land.

• THE NIGERIAN EDUCATION MARKET

The Nigerian education market is huge. It is huge because youths make up to 60% of the country’s population of about 155 million people.

The demand for higher education (HE) in Nigeria is persistently greater than the domestic supply. Nigerian higher education institutions (HEIs) have the capacity to accommodate just about 10% of prospective students who demand to study in them.

The inability of the HEIs to meet the demand for HE and other factors have made foreign education provision attractive in Nigeria.

In the 1960’s and 70’s, majority of the only few Nigerians that ever travelled abroad were students. To study overseas was attractive for three main reasons. Firstly, there were insufficient universities in the newly independent state, Nigeria. On the other hand, the oil boom of the early 1970’s translated to new found wealth which in turn fuelled the preference for foreign education. There were state and community structured scholarship initiatives, as a result of the strong economy of the 1970’s, that complimented individual efforts. It was also hoped that the youths that studied abroad, upon return, would be better equipped to make meaningful contributions to the nascent state.

But then, 50 years after independence, Nigerians still prefer foreign HEIs compared to their domestic counterparts. The reasons for this prevalent market conditions are unchanged from those of the mid 20^th century but rather more factors have reinforced the attraction for foreign education.

• THE MAIN COMPETITORS IN THE MARKET

The two major shareholders  in the Nigeria market are Britain and the USA. South Africa, Canada and Australia are edging to increase their market share. Ukraine, Malaysia and some other oriental countries  are also entering the market.

American HEIs are attracting Nigerian students in large numbers. Out of 32,708 international students that enrolled to study in the USA during 2008/09 session, records show that about 6,256 Nigerian students formed part of that group. That means Nigerian students constitute about 19% of the total number of international students that registered to study in the USA in the period under review. In 2007/08, 6,222 registered students were of Nigerian origin.

British HEIs on their part hold about 51% market share given that up to 10,090 students left Nigeria to pursue academic careers in the UK during 2008/09 session. 2007/08 figures stood at 10,000 students.

• FACTORS THAT SHAPE THE NIGERIAN EDUCATION MARKET

AFFORDABILITY

The growing wealth of the middle class in Nigeria is evident. The ability of Nigerian families to afford foreign education costs  has improved in recent times because the proportion of those that earn above $25,000 are bound to increase five folds by 2015.

On the other hand, a consistent GDP growth from 1.19% to 5.7% between 1999 and 2007 translates to a robust public scholarship schemes. The state policy to rehabilitate the Niger Delta militants involves training programmes and majority are sent abroad to learn. Secondly, most state governments also have scholarships schemes for their indigenes.

The private and semi state corporations are equally proactive in ameliorating the financial difficulties that may impact the prospective students. An example is the Bank PHB Education UK Loan facility available to students that wish to study in Britain.

Meanwhile, the Times higher education magazine reported that Nigerian students cumulatively spent about €700 million to cover education costs in Britain and USA within the last two academic years.

The financial contributions of Nigerian students to both economies were derived based on enrolment figures and the annual average tuition fees for International Students in the UK and USA which are £19,000 and $21,000, respectively.

To forecast that Nigerian students are willing to spend more would not be further from the truth given the consistent preference of foreign HEIs.

DEMAND AND SUPPLY OF EDUCATION

 Nigeria is not only a country of over 150 million people but up to 60% of the population are youths. The demand for education is so huge that the education system is constantly under pressure. There are approximately, 1.5 million prospective students that demand for third level education per academic year. But then, Nigeria’s HEIs have the capacity to accommodate about 10% or 147,000 students per session. The predominance of the young population is tantamount to excess demand vis-à-vis supply of education in the nearest future.

POOR FACILITY

Poor facilities constitute the major reason why Nigerian HEIs are not ranked amongst top global universities. Student hostels, lecture halls and common rooms are usually overcrowded compared to their foreign peers. Welfare problems like poor sanitary conditions and unsatisfactory catering services are commonplace. Inadequate pools of qualified teachers further exacerbate the facility problems.

FUNDING

A UNESCO report concluded that Sub Sahara African governments spend 26% of their annual budgets on education provision. However, the Nigerian government appropriated between 5.3 and 1.08 percentage points of its annual budget on education in 2002 and 2003 respectively. Given that the HEIs are mainly funded publicly, it follows that diminishing resources can be directly linked to poor facilities.

UNREST

The academic calendar is constantly disrupted given that students and the academic staff unions embark on frequent strike actions. To conclude that no academic session ends in Nigeria without either the Student or the Academic Staff or both Unions embarking on strike action, cannot be further from the truth. Different forms of unrest have given rise to unstable academic calendar in most HEls.

It is usually the case that a normal 4 year degree programme can take up to 6 or more years to complete due to various forms of unrest.

CULTISM

The students that make it into the Nigerian universities are exposed to the activities of violent and outlawed societies known as cultism. The nefarious activities of these outlawed associations have led to sour experiences within the academic environment of most Nigerian HEIs. Cultism is a vice that consistently underscores the proper management of third level education in Nigeria.