Senior lawyer Femi Falana has criticised Nasarawa State University's decision to award an honorary degree to Tanzania's president, calling the plan questionable and urging regulatory intervention. Falana raised concerns about the propriety of the honour during a public statement on the matter.
The legal practitioner argued that the university failed to follow proper procedures in awarding the honorary degree. Falana contended that such decisions require transparent processes and strict adherence to established guidelines before institutions confer honours on distinguished individuals.
Falana called on the National Universities Commission, Nigeria's regulatory body for tertiary education, to step in and review Nasarawa State University's decision. He stated that the NUC's guidelines on honorary degrees emphasise transparency, merit, and due process. These standards, according to Falana, exist to protect the integrity of Nigerian universities and ensure that such honours reflect genuine academic excellence and contribution to knowledge.
The NUC guidelines require universities to establish selection committees, document rationale for honouring individuals, and demonstrate how recipients meet established criteria before awarding honorary degrees. Falana's intervention reflects growing concerns about the rigour with which some Nigerian universities apply these standards when honouring foreign dignitaries.
The case underscores tensions between institutional autonomy and regulatory oversight in Nigeria's university system. As the matter develops, the NUC's response will signal whether it intends to enforce its own guidelines with consistency across the country's public universities.
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