Obi Raises Alarm Over Curtailment of Academic Engagements in Universities

Frontline presidential aspirant of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Peter Obi, has raised concerns about what he describes as increasing restrictions on intellectual activities in Nigerian universities, following the cancellation of a scheduled lecture at Obafemi Awolowo University.

In a statement posted on his official platform, Obi said universities, traditionally seen as centres of independent and rigorous inquiry, are being pressured to operate outside their core purpose.

He said he had been invited months earlier to deliver a keynote lecture at the university but was informed at short notice that the event would no longer take place on campus. The lecture had been scheduled before he was due to travel to Ibadan for a political summit.

Obi described the incident as part of a wider pattern, claiming that similar cancellations had occurred more than ten times in recent months. He cited a comparable case at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where an inaugural lecture in honour of former Vice-Chancellor Frank Ndili was cancelled on the day it was due to hold.

He warned that such developments go beyond personal inconvenience and point to a broader erosion of academic freedom and open discourse. Universities, he said, should remain spaces for learning, debate and the free exchange of ideas.

Drawing comparisons with his recent international engagements, Obi noted that he had delivered lectures at institutions including Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Chicago, Pennsylvania and Imperial College London, which he said continue to promote openness and critical engagement.

He questioned what the trend could mean for Nigeria’s future, asking what kind of society is being built if spaces for intellectual discussion are limited.

Obi called for a renewed commitment to free inquiry and knowledge-sharing, saying national development depends on encouraging debate rather than restricting it.