The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Covenant

  • FULL LIST: UI beats UNILAG, Covenant, UNN, OAU, others to emerge best in Nigeria

    FULL LIST: UI beats UNILAG, Covenant, UNN, OAU, others to emerge best in Nigeria

    The University of Ibadan (UI) has emerged as Nigeria’s highest-ranked institution in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2026.

    According to the rankings published on Thursday on THE’s official website, UI was placed in the 801–1000 global band, making it the top-ranked Nigerian university in the 2026 edition. The achievement marks a return to the summit for UI, which last held the position in 2023.

    The 2026 rankings assessed 2,191 universities across 115 countries, using 18 performance indicators grouped under five key areas: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry engagement, and international outlook. The assessment drew from over 174.9 million citations from 18.7 million research publications, as well as survey responses from more than 108,000 scholars worldwide.

    UI climbed from fourth position in Nigeria in the 2025 rankings to reclaim the top spot, displacing Covenant University, which led Nigerian institutions in both the 2024 and 2025 editions.

    Alongside UI, the University of Lagos (UNILAG) was the only other Nigerian institution to feature in the global top 1000, also ranked in the 801–1000 category.

    Bayero University Kano (BUK), Covenant University, and Landmark University were all placed in the 1001–1200 global band.

    In terms of performance strengths, UNILAG recorded the highest research quality score among Nigerian universities with 66.7. Bayero University Kano led in international outlook, while Covenant University ranked highest nationally for industry engagement, reflecting its strong collaboration with the private sector.

    Several Nigerian institutions were placed in the 1201–1500 global band, including Ahmadu Bello University, Federal University of Technology Minna, University of Ilorin, University of Jos, and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

    A larger group of universities appeared in the 1501+ category, reflecting ongoing challenges in global competitiveness despite inclusion in the rankings.

    Read Also: Wale Tinubu bags UNILAG honorary doctorate

    In total, 51 Nigerian universities featured in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026. However, only two—UI and UNILAG—made it into the global top 1000. Fourteen institutions were ranked in the 1501+ category, while 27 universities that submitted data were not ranked.

    Here is the List of top Nigerian Universities 2026

    1. University of Ibadan

    2. University of Lagos

    3. Bayero University Kano

    4. Covenant University

    5. Landmark University

    6. Ahmadu Bello University

    7. Federal University of Technology, Minna

    8. University of Ilorin

    9. University of Jos

    10. University of Nigeria, Nsukka

    11. Babcock University

    12. Delta State University, Abraka

    13. Ekiti State University

    14. Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta

    15. Federal University of Technology, Akure

    16. Federal University of Technology, Owerri

    17. Federal University Oye-Ekiti

    18. Ladoke Akintola University of Technology

    19. Lagos State University

    20. Nnamdi Azikiwe University

    21. Obafemi Awolowo University

    22. University of Benin

    23. University of Calabar

    24. University of Port Harcourt

  • How Nigerian varsities can become world class – Covenant VC

    How Nigerian varsities can become world class – Covenant VC

    The Vice-Chancellor of Covenant University, Professor Abiodun Adebayo, has said that Nigerian universities require intensive and impactful research as well as teaching and community service to emerge world-class.

    Adebayo said this at a workshop in the University of Benin organised by the University of Benin’s Centre of Excellence in Reproductive Health Innovation (CERHI).

    Tagged, ‘University Ranking: Experiences of Covenant University,’, the Vice-Chancellor said that universities in Nigeria could not continue to do what they were used to and expect different results.

    Covenant University, he said, had long resolved to be doing even what the world-class universities, such as Harvard and Oxford, were not doing; hence its high rating amongst the world’s higher institutions.

    “Most universities in Nigeria concentrate on teaching and, perhaps, community service and have left out the area of research.

    “Impactful research is almost non-existent in most of the universities,” Adebayo said.

    According to him, to secure first ranking in Africa, the university had set a vision of 10:2022, meaning to be among the best 10 in the world by 2022.

    He said that although the University of Benin was not doing badly, it would need to improve on its publications, particularly in Q1 and Q2 journals.

    Besides teaching, research, and impact, Adebayo identified citation, reputation, international outlook, and industry income as other metrics considered for university ranking across the world.

    “You have to go beyond your best to accomplish some of those things. If we want to become world-class universities, beyond classroom teachings, we have to spend extra time doing the research. We must go beyond the kind of civil service work we do”.

    “The world is a global village and the rankings of universities have really come to stay. Whether or not you wish to be ranked, you will be ranked. It is high time, whether management, staff or students, we worked together to see that we place our universities on the world map, standing at par with other world universities,” he said.

     Vice-Chancellor of the University of Benin, Professor Lilian Salami, said that the lecture had brought out all the deficiencies as well as the things that the institution was doing right.

    “I think the most important thing is that we all have determined that we can do it because he has simplified how we can get to that world-class level. At the University of Benin, we are also proud to be the University of the Universe, but we must match our words with our actions. So, our students and staff; we challenge you to step into the shoes of a digital generation.

    Read Also: Covenant varsity alumni announces graduating students award recipients

    “Some of our students are coming up with some innovations that we never thought would happen at the university. We are almost there and we can get there. What is left for us is to be determined, dedicated, and willing to learn. There is no one who is too old to learn,” Salami said.

    Speaking with newsmen, Leader, CERHI, Professor Friday Okonofua said the lecture had opened the University to what it should be doing. We thought that what we needed to do was to rejig the university towards high ranking, for the entire institution to be aware of what the issues are.

    “I knew the University Community was not fully aware. That is why I organized this lecture, and we are going to do more because we want to create awareness. It is only when staff and students are aware of this fact that the university ranking will improve,” Okonofua said.