By Micheal Chukwuebuka, Reporting
ONITSHA – More than three-quarters of admission racketeering in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions can be traced to just four factors, a university professor has disclosed.
Professor Tochukwu Okeke of the Department of Theatre and Film Studies, Faculty of Arts at Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, Anambra State, made the revelation at the 2026 Feast of Barracuda Lectures held in Inland Town, Onitsha.
Speaking as a guest lecturer at the event with the theme: “Admission Racketeering in Higher Institutions, Values, Institutional Suicide and the Death of a Nation,” Professor Okeke also stated that politicians are part of the problem.
He described admission racketeering as including the sale of admission to lesser-qualified candidates, manipulation of tertiary institution admissions for monetary rewards, and selling slots meant for merit, catchment areas and educationally disadvantaged spaces.
According to Professor Okeke: “Catchment and merit, educationally disadvantaged areas, Vice-Chancellor’s list and staff children’s list contribute more than 75 per cent of the admission racketeering. This has begun to erode the values that we display in our certificates.
“We prided ourselves in earlier days that we are graduates but today, it is not so. Ask a graduate a single thing in the discipline he studied, it becomes a problem.
“Also, some slots are reserved for politicians. Instead of doing mass education for society, the politicians will be pressurising the VC or head of the institution for their candidates’ slots. Before, we thought this admission racketeering was meant for the mafia but now, because of the monetary benefit, everybody wants to belong.”
Professor Okeke attributed the problem of admission racketeering to underfunding of institutions, adding that most schools lack enabling environments for functional laboratories. He said non-payment of adequate salaries prompts teachers to seek extra means of revenue generation to meet family obligations.
‘Institutional suicide’ warning
Another resource person, Dr Charles Ajaegbu from the Department of Theatre Arts, Faculty of Arts at Paul University, Awka, told the gathering that admission racketeering destroys institutional credibility, weakens societal values and threatens national development.
Dr Ajaegbu said: “It represents a form of institutional suicide because universities and other tertiary institutions undermine their own integrity and purpose when they compromise standards for selfish interests. Ultimately, when education loses its moral and intellectual foundation, the nation itself suffers decline.
“The phrase ‘institutional suicide’ suggests self-destruction caused by internal misconduct. Admission racketeering gradually destroys the credibility, functionality and reputation of higher institutions.
“When educational systems become corrupt, talented students and scholars may seek opportunities abroad. This contributes to brain drain and weakens national intellectual development.
“When unqualified individuals gain admission through corruption, institutions may produce graduates lacking competence and professionalism. Such graduates may later occupy sensitive positions in medicine, law, engineering, education and governance. The result can be poor healthcare delivery, infrastructural collapse, weak governance, unemployment and economic stagnation, and loss of national values and identity.
“A nation’s identity is built on shared moral values such as justice, integrity and fairness. Educational corruption weakens these values and promotes cynicism among citizens.”
He recommended that governments increase funding and establish more quality institutions to reduce competition pressures, adding that society must promote values of integrity, merit and fairness through education and public campaigns.
Dr Ajaegbu posited that admission racketeering in higher institutions is not merely an educational problem but a moral, institutional and national crisis, adding: “By replacing merit with corruption, it destroys the values upon which education and society are built.
“Institutions that engage in admission fraud commit institutional suicide by undermining their own credibility, standards and purpose.
“Therefore, combating admission racketeering requires collective action from government, educational institutions, parents, students and society at large.
“Only through integrity, transparency and commitment to merit can higher education regain its dignity and contribute meaningfully to national development.”
‘We have killed the Barracuda fish’
Earlier in his address, the host and President of the Seadogs Onitsha chapter, Engineer Benjamin Agbala, disclosed that the body fights ills against society through advocacy programmes that include energy, physical contributions and social work, adding that the Barracuda Lecture is one such means of fighting societal ills.
He said: “We fight the ills militating against a just society through advocacy programmes, through physical contributions and social work.
“This Barracuda lecture is one of the avenues through which we fight the ills militating against the attainment of a just society.
“We organise lectures for people to be aware and realise that things go wrong because people are not aware or are ignorant.
“We bring in competent lecturers who will lecture and tell the people so that awareness is greater. We have series of lectures like Wole Soyinka on his birthday, and others.
“This Feast of Barracuda lecture is one of the means of condemning admission racketeering in our tertiary institutions.
“There is this dangerous fish called Barracuda – a very dreadful fish – and when it is killed, the other fish celebrate their freedom.
“So we have today killed the admission racketeering Barracuda fish, since it is an ill wind that blows nobody any good.
“This is the fifth edition of this lecture since 2017 when we established the Onitsha chapter.
“The reason it is only five times is because of the Covid-19 epidemic and former Governor Willie Obiano’s exit period, when a mountain of refuse was at Oguta Road and we had to clear it.”
Among those present were Ejiofor Ibeziakor, Onitsha vice-president; legal adviser, Barrister Ofili; Chinyelugo Okwudili; and teacher Obiozor.
