Private universities have moved from three in 1999 to 149 in 2024, nearly triple the number of federal universitiesThe University of Ibadan remained Nigeria's only university for twelve years before the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, was established in 1960. Eleven universities followed between 1962 and 1975, increasing the number to 13 federal government-owned universities.
The first state university was established in Rivers State in 1979, marking the beginning of the displacement of the federal government's ownership monopoly. Six state and nine federal universities were added in the 1980s, with four federal universities added in 1988, the year of the first Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike.
While state-owned universities have grown steadily, slightly outpacing those owned by the federal government, private universities have displaced both, increasing from three institutions in 1999 to 33 in 2007, 60 in 2015, and 149 in 2024. There are now more private universities than federal and state universities combined.
