A Commonwealth Institute Director and professor of Strategy and Development, Anthony Kila, has urged Nigerian universities to aggressively pursue international students’ recruitment across Commonwealth countries, describing global education as one of the most strategic and underutilised opportunities for revenue and influence available to higher institutions in Nigeria today.

The don made the call during a strategic presentation at the recently concluded Commonwealth University Leaders’ Conference, where university leaders, education strategists, policymakers and institutional administrators gathered to discuss funding, leadership and sustainability in higher education.

Kila, while speaking on the theme, “International Student Recruitment as a Source of Extra and Foreign Revenue Generation,” said that Nigerian universities must begin to view international education not merely as an admission activity but as a strategic industry tied to economics, diplomacy, reputation and institutional survival in the 21st century.

According to him, universities worldwide now compete internationally for students, partnerships, visibility and financial sustainability, while Nigerian universities continue to underperform in a sector where the country already has significant natural advantages.

Kila identified Commonwealth countries across Africa and the Caribbean as immediate recruitment opportunities for Nigerian universities.

He said that Nigerian universities could attract international students in areas where the country has strong academic and cultural relevance, including African Studies, Governance and Diplomacy, Political Economy, FinTech, Entrepreneurship, Public and Tropical Health, Religion and Society, Nollywood, Afrobeat and Creative Arts.

He, however, warned that many Nigerian universities remain structurally unprepared for internationalisation due to weak branding, poor digital visibility, outdated application systems, inconsistent academic calendars, and underdeveloped support for international students.

Besides, he emphasised the importance of leadership commitment, urging vice-chancellors and university administrators to treat internationalisation as a core institutional strategy rather than a peripheral one.

Kila stressed that universities that internationalise intelligently would become not only financially stronger but also more relevant, resilient and globally influential.

“International recruitment is more than admissions. “It is an economic, institutional, reputational, soft-power and development strategy,” he said.