Legal luminary and elder statesman, Chief Afe Babalola, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), has cautioned the Federal Government against the indiscriminate approval of new university licences.

Speaking at the High Impact Research and Journal Advancement Workshop in Ado-Ekiti on Monday, Babalola warned that the unchecked expansion of universities without adequate infrastructure and quality control would significantly harm Nigeria’s educational system in the long term.

The founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), reflected on the tenure of Prof. Peter Okebukola as the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), during which the approval process for establishing universities was thorough and careful.

He stressed that only institutions with strong accreditation processes, particularly in disciplines such as Medicine, Engineering, and Law, were allowed to offer degree programmes.

“But what do we have today?” Babalola questioned. “Mass approval of mushroom and substandard universities, some of which lack even basic learning facilities and infrastructure.”

Babalola condemned the current approach to university licensing, describing it as a “quantity over quality” mentality.

The elder statesman pointed out that the rapid expansion of universities—now over 270 in Nigeria, with proposals for 200 more under consideration—has led to a serious compromise in the quality of education.

“This anything-goes mentality has undermined the NUC’s ability to enforce quality control and eliminate substandard institutions,” he lamented.

Babalola warned that the unchecked growth of low-quality universities would ultimately lead to a decline in the calibre of graduates, which could have long-term negative effects on the nation’s future. “What we need is quality education, because poor education is worse than illiteracy,” he stressed.

He went on to say that Nigeria’s aspiration for sustainable development through high-impact research could not be realised without first addressing the issue of substandard universities.

In support of Babalola’s call, Prof. Peter Okebukola, who delivered a lecture at the workshop, underscored the need for greater international collaboration to improve Nigeria’s university rankings.