Tunji Alausa urges Nigerian universities to diversify funding

Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has called on vice-chancellors of public universities to urgently diversify their funding sources to avoid institutional stagnation. Speaking at the National Advancement Forum 2026, Alausa revealed that only four out of 68 federal universities are currently making meaningful use of alternative funding streams.

He urged university leadership to move beyond a reliance on government allocations by strengthening advancement offices and pursuing research grants, endowments, alumni giving, philanthropy, and industry partnerships. Alausa emphasized that “government funding is not enough” and that successful institutions rely on blended funding models to support laboratories, scholarships, and innovation programmes.

The Minister noted that while the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu remains committed to education through budgetary allocations and infrastructure investment, university leaders must actively network with businesses and philanthropists to leverage their intellectual capital for institutional development.