Resetting Nigeria's tertiary education through Wigwe University

Education is light. Education is power. Education moulds the present and the future. The value of education is highlighted by its potential to create and sustain the leaders of tomorrow while nurturing them today.

In Nigeria, education produced profound men and women who led the struggle for independence and postured the nation as the ‘African giant’. After that giant stride, several faltering steps have handicapped Nigeria’s education system, especially its tertiary learning.

Rather than breeding leaders of tomorrow, tertiary education flounders and has lost its focus. All hope is not lost.

There is a promise to restart the process of producing leaders of tomorrow through a one-of-its-kind university set to kick off in a few months. It is time for men and women of goodwill to look inward and support the dreams of tomorrow’s leaders.

Resetting Nigeria’s university education

Resetting Nigeria’s education system has begun with the acclaimed one of Africa’s foremost corporate bankers, Herbert Wigwe, the cofounder and Group Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings. Wigwe is taking bold steps to revamp tertiary education in Nigeria and its economic situation.

It is the “culmination” of his lifelong ambition to build an exceptional, world-class, innovative, yet uniquely African institution “to grow Nigeria’s next generation of leaders who will change the face of our continent.”

Through his foundation, The HOW Foundation, Wigwe’s mission is to shift the course of Nigeria’s future by grooming a fearless generation of Africans who would be future leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs who would propel Nigeria and Africa forward in leadership, socio-economic growth and inspiration.

Wigwe University will develop world-class faculties, innovative curricula and modern learning methods to rival, if not exceed, the world’s most respected Ivy-League universities. With state-of-the-art facilities, collaborative spaces, innovative programmes and partnerships, mentorship, pastoral care and a vibrant campus culture, we will foster an environment that unleashes the potential of future fearless African generations.

“The truth is that the end to the good we can achieve is nowhere in sight. There’s so much more to conquer. There are more lives to impact and generations to uplift to achieve their full potential,” stated the Access Bank honcho. “History will favour the brave, those who knew their limitations only because they had to defy them. History will favour the fearless.”

Wigwe University

“To ignite Africa’s potential for prosperity, nurture responsible, fearless leaders, and become the leading university in Africa” is Wigwe University’s vision. Its mission is “to set a standard of educational distinction for our continent, students, and educators, nurturing the next generation of African leaders to become guiding lights for positive impact in a rapidly changing world.”

As its strategic pillars and philosophy, Wigwe University will provide a robust learning experience by delivering a unique learning experience that leverages practice, research, and theory, including entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership, thus becoming the institution of reference for entrepreneurial innovation and leadership in Africa.

Wigwe University will also ensure eco-friendly operations through its sustainability plan, deliver impact to the host community and drive financial self-sustainability.

In addition, the university is poised to stay globally connected, affiliating with reputable higher institutions and bodies for relevant accreditation. The university will begin its pioneer session of 2024/2025 on September 12, 2024.

Wigwe University’s core values

The institution promises to be “fearless, strive for greatness, think differently, lead through service, and be engaged.” In doing so, Wigwe University will address contemporary challenges of tertiary education in Nigeria, including low-quality standards, lack of qualified manpower, mentorship and pastoral care, infrastructural deficits, poor funding, and outdated curriculum and system.

These challenges have resulted in poor employability capacity even where the jobs exist due to a lack of skills for the current human resources requisition and the fourth industrial revolution. The unemployment rate is currently 41 percent.

This could be attributed to the fact that the pedagogy of learning does not equip students with the right training and skills for entrepreneurship and innovation. There is also the issue of poor leadership skills, as the ability to lead Africa into a future of growth and sustainability is not acknowledged as a part of the curriculum of tertiary institutions.

Studying overseas costs a lot due to the high foreign exchange rate, contributing to inflation, stretching and straining the local economy. Analysts note that it is counter-intuitive that over $3 billion value of Form ‘A’ was approved in 2022 by CBN to pay tuition to foreign universities as part of CBN’s efforts to support education and promote economic growth.

However, many students are made to remain overseas rather than return to Nigeria to contribute to nation-building for economic growth. The sourcing of foreign exchange from other sources is estimated to be around $20 billion between 2021 and 2022.

The students face cultural threats and adaptability challenges, among other ills, including inequitable access to work or economic growth opportunities. Even when employed, there is a glass ceiling due to their heritage or country of origin.

The infrastructural deficit in the public education sector is a barrier to enrolment and the active participation of students. With the ever-present challenges facing public education within Nigeria, many students look beyond public schools to alternative institutions that address all or some of these issues like worker strikes, poor infrastructure and corruption.

With student-to-staff ratios of 15:1 and below, private universities provide students with better access to faculty members. This culture has proven to promote the free sharing of ideas and entrepreneurial thinking. With the presence of very experienced and competent researchers, private universities are making a significant impact in academics and research, as two of the 10 leading research institutions in Nigeria are private universities.

A stable academic calendar is often a mirage in public tertiary institutions, as strikes and disruption of academic activities nationwide are commonplace in most Nigerian universities. The non-payment of salaries and poor welfare structure for lecturers in public universities has contributed to increased strike actions.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities have gone on protracted periods of strike actions a record 15 times since 1999. Since private universities have autonomy over their finances and administration, strikes are almost nonexistent.

Why Wigwe University?

Wigwe University’s unique value proposition makes it stand out. It has a world-class curriculum and faculty. Its curriculum is innovative, new-age, relevant, industry-led, and world-class. The National Universities Commission (NUC) requires that the university adopt its recommended Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards.

However, Wigwe University has innovated a curriculum within NUC-approved ambits to create an exciting cocktail of cross- and multi-disciplinary degrees and courses that would prepare our students for the current skills requirements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), the future of work, leadership capacity, and entrepreneurial pursuits, and fill their aspirations.

Our students would be exposed to Erasmus+ (exchange programmes and internships) with partner and affiliated top-rated universities across the world, regardless of the degree programme of study.

Wigwe University’s faculty has a unique mix of home-based and foreign-sourced faculty members and industry partners to provide a curriculum, pedagogy, and learning delivery system that meets global standards and reflects the unique needs of Africa. Its faculty-student ratio is 1:25.

The university has an alignment with the future of work. The university’s programmes and curriculum are strategically aligned with the skillsets required for the future of work and ensure that the delivery of its academic offerings is in line with global best practises.

In terms of entrepreneurial opportunities, Wigwe University guarantees job opportunities, including internships and graduate positions, for its top-performing graduates through its established network of partner organisations across sectors and supporting entrepreneurial students to develop game-changing solutions.

The university prides itself on being “connected” and “experiential learning”. The university touts deploying technology in managing all student activities, including course delivery, learning, planning and management, student journey management, and real-time student experience measurement, to keep the university ahead of the curve in learning innovation.

It is able to do this because of its campus-wide network and internet connectivity, independent power plant powered with natural gas (10 megawatts capacity), innovative systems for lecture delivery, such as smartboards, augmented reality resources, hi-tech laboratories, innovation hubs, etc.

It also has hybrid teaching and learning for students and faculty members with resources such as immersive 3D cameras and screens in-classroom hologram projection of a faculty member to create an immersive in-person learning experience where the faculty member is not physically present or is hired as an adjunct, using technology in the deployment of simulators for practicum-based teaching and research.

This involves an experiential approach to course delivery through active and collaborative engagement, integrating theory and practice, implementing industry-led curricula, work-integrated learning programmes (WILP), and internships for all Wigwe University students, regardless of the degree programme.

For its leadership development programmes, the output would be leaders with relevant resilience to propel Africa to growth, parity, or equivalence and possess the audacity to transcend the rest of the world.

All these are achievable with a transformative student experience, as the university’s academic facilities, accommodations, and support services are designed to ensure maximum comfort and a great campus life. Also, its average faculty-student ratio of 1:25 will ensure a unique and personalised learning experience for students.

The university remains committed to sustainability across economic, environmental, social, and governance dimensions, with its students undertaking sustainability projects for major and micro-credentialing in all elements of economic, environmental, social, governance, masterclass, and mentorship programmes. Wigwe University will leverage the expertise of industry partners and networks to weave applied learning into the fabric of our delivery through mentorships and masterclasses.

Partnerships and affiliations

The university has and is engaging in partnerships that align with our core values and support our vision to groom future generations of fearless African leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs. Its partners include Access Bank, Dangote Industries, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Amazon Web Services, the Rivers, Lagos, Ogun, Imo, and Kano governments, and the Nigerian Content Development Management Board.

The university’s affiliations are the University of Creative Arts, United Kingdom, Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania, and Kernelios Limited (an Israeli-based world-leading institution in cyber security education).

Student inspiration, mentorship and pastoral care

In line with one of its five core values, ‘Be Engaged’, the university reiterated its commitment “from all and to all, structures, resources and facilities will be in place to foster the mental, emotional, spiritual and physical well-being of every student.”

Wigwe University’s philosophy is to ensure equitable access by all students and staff to all available top-of-the-range academic and support services. To achieve several resources have been outlined, including the college buildings.

“It is our philosophy that the learning environment should not be mentally draining but should be one that fosters creativity,” said the university. “Each college building is equipped with six ‘Breakout Rooms’ for students within faculty buildings for meditation, relaxation, intellectually stimulating gaming rooms and tutorial rooms to support student learning.”

There are also mental well-being and health facilities, a place of worship for all faiths, a physical and mental well-being clinic with sports instructors and clinical psychologists for students, and private and confidential consultations. The campus is a secure, serene environment and a landscape delight.

For support infrastructure — mentor pairing —students are paired with mentors within and outside the campus environment that align with their aspirations throughout their stay in Wigwe University—student support services, such as career planning and counselling, including pastoral care and crisis management hotline access in halls of residence, periodic masterclasses by well-accomplished Nigerians and international personalities to train and inspire students for growth and success.

Wigwe University’s masterplan

The university campus is spread across 558 Hectares of land developed in phases. Phases one and two and development will span about seven years. Construction of 81 buildings is ongoing, which shall all be completed and commissioned by July 31, 2024.

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