Abstract. This study takes a look at the higher education in Nigeria: achievements, challenges and prospects. It observes that within the
framework of the National Policy on Education (2004), universities in Nigeria are
expected to enjoy the traditional areas of freedom in the areas of selection of
students; appointment of staff; teaching and research and determination of content
of courses. The paper however observes that in spite of this commitment,
universities in Nigeria have been facing many challenges, which make the
achievement of academic freedom very difficult. It notes that universities have
been hampered by the activities of some agencies, such as the Joint Admission
and Matriculation Board (JAMB), which controls and monitors admission process
into the universities and the National Universities Commission (NUC). The paper
therefore concludes that for a university to meet the needs of the world around it,
its research and teaching must be morally and intellectually independent of all
political authority and economic power.