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A leading public administration scholar, Professor Ehiyamen Mediayanose Osezua, has strongly condemned the ongoing reforms in the Nigerian public sector as mere actions without movement, arguing that they are insufficient to achieve results in service delivery.
According to him, “Nigeria’s tragedy is not that it lacks institutions, talent or resources. The greater tragedy is that these have too often not been mobilized with sufficient integrity, discipline, competence and clarity of development.”
“The effectiveness of governance fundamentally depends on the ability of institutions to cultivate performance-oriented leadership, to enforce ethical and professional standards and to translate
political intention into a measurable public value.” he maintains.
Delivering the 11th inaugural lecture at the Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology (OAUSTECH), Okitipupa, Ondo State, Nigeria, titled “GOVERNMENT WITHOUT RESULTS:
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, LEADERSHIP AND INSTITUTIONAL FAILURE IN NIGERIA. QUO VADIS?”, Osezua, dean of the School of Management Sciences, says that governance systems in the country remain active but development outcomes are uneven.
According to him, “Nigeria’s experience reflects a broader governance paradox in which administrative systems remain structurally active but functionally constrained, producing what can be conceptualized as a “governing without results” condition.
This condition exemplifies the central thrust of this conference: that governing without results reflects not the absence of administrative structures, but the weakness of the institutional mechanisms necessary to translate “political intent into public value.”
Alluding to higher education governance as an empirical lens for understanding institutional failure in Nigeria, Osezua posits that “institutional failure is not only a function of financial scarcity or policy inadequacy, but also of leadership practice and the discipline of accountability.”
A useful entry point into the problem of institutional failure in Nigerian higher education, he believes, is the contrast between system expansion and institutional experience.
“As of March 20, 2026, the National University Commission recognizes 309 universities in”This numerical growth suggests an expanding university system. However, the political context itself now reflects the concern of whether or not the rapid multiplication of institutions has been accompanied
adequate funding, infrastructure, staff and governance capacity.
“In fact, in August 2025, the federal government imposed a seven-year moratorium
the creation of new federal universities, polytechnics and educational institutes, citing excessive resources, underutilized institutions and declining academic quality.
“The implication is clear: the issue is no longer simply one of access or proliferation, but whether or not the system has the institutional depth to sustain quality.
“Funding data reinforces this concern. In the proposed 2026 education budget, the federal government allocated ₦966.9 billion to universities, which
represents the largest share within the allocation for the education sector presented by the Ministry of Education. On paper this appears substantial.
“However, recent official budget defense proceedings before the National Assembly also reveal persistent concerns about capital planning, fiscal discipline, monitoring, accountability and effective use of allocated funds in the Nigerian university system. In other words, the challenge is not simply the size of the allocation, but the enduring gap between budgetary promises and institutional outcomes.
“Universities do not experience budget data in the abstract; they experience them through laboratories, classrooms, staff welfare, research support, nutrition, digital infrastructures and the regularity of institutional processes.
“When releases are delayed, implementation weak, or capital projects poorly executed, the academic experience remains fragile despite impressive appropriations,” he argues.
Emphasizing further, Osesua, a professor in the Department of Public Administration in the School of Management Sciences and a leading scholar of higher education and conflict management, argues that “reform, in other words, should not be measured just by policy rollouts, curriculum redesign, or official roadmaps, but by improving the lived reality of the university as a community of scholars.”
In his view, this is where the concept of institutional failure becomes particularly useful.
“Nigerian universities today not only suffer from funding shortages or periodic labor disputes, but also suffer from a deeper disconnect between reform rhetoric and institutional experience.
“A system can register more universities, more policies, more roadmaps and more agreements, but still leave academics working with unstable timetables, uncertain welfare conditions, weak research support, inadequate infrastructure and inconsistent administrative implementation.
“The question, therefore, is not simply whether reforms exist, but whether institutions are sufficiently resilient, accountable and well-led to convert reforms into results. This, perhaps, is one of the clearest examples of what it means to govern a university system without producing commensurate results,” says Osezua, also an adjunct professor of Public Administration at Austin Christian University, Texas, USA.
The university sector, he believes, provides a microcosm of the broader paradox of governance
addressing Nigeria: the coexistence of political activism and institutional expansion with persistent limitations in service delivery and development
impact.
“The rapid expansion of universities, including a significant increase in private institutions, has had a negative impact
better access, but has also raised questions about equity, affordability and quality assurance,” he says, stressing that Nigeria’s future will not be secured simply by changing its face.
“Public administration can be renewed. Leadership can be reformed. Institutions can recover. Trust can be rebuilt. Development can be pursued with seriousness and fairness. The State can return to being a vehicle of hope rather than frustration.
“It will be ensured by changing values, strengthening systems, developing competent leaders, rewarding merit and rebuilding trust in institutions. Our challenge is not a lack of potential, but the inability to consistently translate potential into performance. Our crisis is not just administrative; it is also moral, evolutionary and institutional,” jokes Osezua.
Chaired by the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Temi Emmanuel Ologunorisa, the inaugural lecture held at the main auditorium of the university on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, was also graced by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Foluso Olutope Adetuyi; The Deputy Vice Chancellor, Administration and Development, Prof. Dipo Theophilus Akomolafe and the Chancellor, Mr. Abiodun Peter Okunniga. Other notable officials present at the event are the University Bursar, Mr. Ganiyu Bamidele Aminu, and the Librarian, Dr. Adetoun Adebisi Oyelude.
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