Honoris causa: Illegal varsities milking award-hungry Nigerians for cash

DEBORAH TOLU-KOLAWOLE writes on how several unaccredited universities have turned Nigerians desperate for honorary degree awards into cash cows

Despite questions about their legality, prominent Nigerian politicians, celebrities, and clerics have continued to bag honourary degrees popularly referred to as ‘honoris causa’ from unaccredited universities or degree mills.

Investigations by our correspondent show that the degrees are not awarded to the recipients based on their contributions to national or human development. The awards are literally paid for by the recipients or their sponsors.

This is happening even though the National Universities Commission, the Federal Government agency that accredits universities and other degree-awarding institutions, has made several publications warning people about the diploma mills. Recently, the NUC published a list of 18 foreign degree mills operating in Nigeria following an investigation by Daily Nigerian into the fraudulent issuance of a degree certificate by Ecole Superieure de Gestion et de Technologies, ESGT, Cotonou, Benin Republic.