Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has strongly defended the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), stating that the institution is not inferior to other universities in the country.

Obasanjo made this declaration on Monday while hosting university officials who visited him for a courtesy call and alumni award presentation.

Drawing from his personal experience as a NOUN graduate, the former president emphasized that he has firsthand knowledge of the institution's standards.

Evolution of Nigerian Universities

Reflecting on the history of higher education in Nigeria, Obasanjo noted that the University of Ibadan stood alone for about a decade as the country's only university. This was followed by the establishment of second-generation federal and state universities, and later, private institutions.

Despite these developments, he pointed out that a significant gap remained in university education, which prompted the establishment of NOUN to provide more accessible learning opportunities, particularly for working professionals.

"Despite the availability of universities, we're still not coping; the gaps kept getting wider, which was why I said Open University is a necessity. It created more avenues and made it convenient for working-class citizens," Obasanjo explained.

Personal Testament to NOUN's Quality

The former president revealed that he enrolled at NOUN to personally test claims about the institution's inferiority.

"Some people rose up, saying Open University is inferior to non-open universities, but I was not discouraged. I said, let me go there and have a taste of why they're saying it is inferior. Then I came in, I saw and I conquered," he stated.

Obasanjo highlighted that distinguished lecturers supervised his PhD research, just as they did for many other doctoral candidates. "Two distinguished lecturers supervised me and supervised many other PhD students, and if they supervised me successfully, my PhD wouldn't be inferior," he affirmed.

The former president also noted NOUN's impressive growth, stating, "At some point, we were more than half a million, and we are still growing."

Concluding his remarks, Obasanjo pledged his continued support for the institution and its mission to expand educational access across Nigeria.

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