If it is geared towards enhancing transparency and accountability in the nation’s tertiary institutions, the directive by the Federal Government that universities, polytechnics and colleges of technology should publish annual financial reports and academic data sounds reasonable. Indeed, having public tertiary institutions communicate their activities, economic and other data through public channels will open up the system, encourage investment flows and boost public confidence. If sincerely complied with, the new order should complement and not complicate existing accountability processes, including oversight by the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation.
 
According to reports, the Federal Government’s desire to shine a transparency searchlight on public tertiary institutions was first mooted in April 2025, when the Federal Ministry of Education announced the policy as part of a broader reform initiative aimed at strengthening public trust and enhancing performance-based funding. A deadline of May 2025 was issued for all institutions to comply with the order. But only a few of them responded to the demand for openness. Most institutions, it was reported, continued to operate in foggy circumstances, showing little regard for principles of accountability and transparency.
  
According to a study done by the Ministry of Education, in partnership with the Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership, only seven universities complied with the directive to publish comprehensive reports on students’ enrolment, grants, Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and allocations by the Federal Government. About 195 others failed to comply. That is a huge indictment on the part of institutions that are supposed to champion openness.
 
Apart from failing to publish the data, most of the institutions ignored the Freedom of Information (FoI) requests made to inquire into their activities. That is reprehensible. The tertiary environment is a citadel of learning and candour, particularly in upholding the rule of law. The FOI Act is a law that must be respected by all. A culture of arrogance and impunity should have no place in the country’s tertiary system. If anything, that is where exemplary behaviour is most needful, since the future of the country is most impacted at that level. But it is public knowledge that some school administrators think they can operate above the law. They operate like demigods and little autocrats in their covens. They should embrace the best corporate governance models in order to benefit from global research funding opportunities and other international integrity valuations.
  
The Federal Tertiary Institution Governance and Transparency Platform (FTIGTP), introduced by the government to enhance transparency and banish rigidity in the system, is commendable. Recommendation that failure on the part of institutions to provide timely accountability reports will have them forfeit TETfund funding is equally worth supporting. If they are being run with public funds, there is nothing amiss in universities, polytechnics and others, reporting their yearly budgets, personnel/capital costs, research grants, endowments and student population. With the open data and access to local and international stakeholders at the touch of a button, there are chances that the institutions stand to benefit.
  
In addition, the job of the Auditor General might be simplified with institutions already doing the basic accountability and transparency processes. It does not serve any productive purpose if Nigerian institutions are ranked among the world’s least transparent. That can only serve the insular interests of those who operate in the dark.
 
While some university managers are, for ulterior motives, not comfortable with the new template, public interest, rather than their individual comfort, is what matters in this particular issue. Rather, Nigerian universities should return to their days of glory, when university degrees and certificates from Nigerian institutions were respected globally without subjecting them to pre-qualification processes. The journey to excellence begins with having in place quality corporate governance procedures.
  
The government should send regular visitation panels to institutions to see how things work, including adherence to the rule of law. Left without regular oversight, some university managers soon develop the syndrome of Africa’s ‘big men’: the tendency to become little dictators in their spheres. The academic environment must be liberalised to showcase civilisation and the quest for excellence.
 
In this era of informatics, it is unacceptable that over 80 per cent of Nigeria’s tertiary institutions do not engage the public on their financial reports, revenue and expenditure breakdowns and grant utilisation statements on their websites. What have they got to hide? Going forward, let tertiary institutions update their websites with comprehensive data on all matters.
  
However, this opening up should not interfere with the institutional autonomy that is already available. Rather, it should be implemented to enhance it.