When Professor Ade Ajayi became Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan in 1972, fewer than a dozen candidates applied for what was then considered the pinnacle of academic achievement in Nigeria. The position commanded respect but modest financial rewards — most applicants were driven by intellectual ambition rather than economic necessity.
Today, a single Vice Chancellor advertisement attracts upwards of 200 applicants, many of whom struggle to articulate a coherent academic vision beyond securing what has become a lucrative political
