Why Nigeria needs more universities — Onyishi

The founder of the newly established Maduka Onyishi University, Ekwegbe, Enugu State, Chief Sam Maduka Onyishi, has said the over 200 universities in Nigeria are not enough considering the high demand for university education and huge population of the country. Speaking to journalists in his Enugu office recently, Onyishi, who is also the chairman/founder of […]

The founder of the newly established Maduka Onyishi University, Ekwegbe, Enugu State, Chief Sam Maduka Onyishi, has said the over 200 universities in Nigeria are not enough considering the high demand for university education and huge population of the country.

Speaking to journalists in his Enugu office recently, Onyishi, who is also the chairman/founder of Peace Mass Transit, noted that the need for universities is a result of increasing population, coupled with the obvious constraints students experience in gaining admission into public tertiary institutions.

He said his university would make its graduates employers of labour rather than job seekers, adding, “People should be able to go to school and come out of school.”

“If you get employed somewhere, it’s good but even if you don’t get a job, you should be able to employ yourself. I believe in education for self-reliance,” he added.

According to him, the entrepreneurial concept of the new university is that any of its graduates should be able to run his or her own business, the course the graduate read, notwithstanding.

“We are going to teach you in a manner that, when you come out of the university, you should be a lawyer that can employ yourself. You should be a lawyer for wealth creation or historian of self-reliance.”

While noting that he has enough infrastructure to take off, he said the Secondary School, Maduka College, will commence in September while Maduka University will start its academic activities in December 2022.