News
Forex Crisis: Nigerian Students Abroad Apply to Home Universities
Many Nigerian students studying abroad have been seeking transfer to Nigerian universities to complete their education at home because of the scarcity of foreign exchange.
Punch reported that the students were forced to take the decision following the huge exchange rate which many parents could no longer afford.
Some of the students told Punch that they would prefer to return to the country to complete their studies, instead of going through difficulties and long waits for forex that is no longer available to them at the appropriate time.
An Ogun State indigene, Babatunde Agboola, who is studying in the United States, told one of our correspondents that he and some of his friends had agreed to return to Nigeria to complete their studies.
“The message we keep on receiving from home every day is that dollar is scarce and this is affecting our education,” Agboola said.
Asked which way the scarcity of the dollar was affecting them, he simply said, “In all areas. We need to buy food and sometimes books, but when there is no money to buy them, automatically we will be affected. So, it is better we return to Nigeria to complete our studies.”
A large number of Nigerian students are studying abroad, mainly in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, among others.
A 2015 report by the Institute of International Education’s Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange, the United States, claimed that 9,494 students from Nigeria were admitted in the 2014/15 academic session, making Nigeria the leading source of students from Africa and the 15th largest country worldwide among international students in the US.
Nigerian universities, especially the private ones, have however, expressed interest in providing spaces for willing students interested in their respective institutions.
The universities assured the concerned students of standard learning facilities like those found in tertiary institutions abroad.
For instance, Babcock University said it was interested in accepting transfer students.
It allayed the fears of concerned parents who could not afford expensive forex and urged them to seek placements for their children in the institution.
The university also promised interested students world-class learning facilities.
It listed integration of international professional certifications into academic programmes and well structured and uninterrupted academic programmes, among others, as some of the benefits interested students were bound to enjoy.
A senior official of Babcock University told one of our correspondents on the telephone that many foreign students had been seeking transfer to the institution.
He said the opportunity was open to Nigerians who actually left the country to school abroad and those who were born there.
The official said, “It is surprising that many parents said their children would not have completed their education abroad, but for the opportunity created by Babcock University to assist stranded students.
“So many people have been coming to us to seek advice on how to handle their transfer. All they need to do is to apply and come with their transcripts.
“The opportunity is open to every interested person, including Nigerians born abroad, but interested in continuing their education in Nigeria.”
When asked how the standard of the certificates of those born abroad could be determined in Nigeria, the official said, “That one is not a problem; there is a way we usually grade the certificates.”
Achievers University, Owo, Ondo State, has admitted a few of the students who sought transfer from abroad to the institution.
A senior official of the institution, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “One student was admitted into one of the social sciences departments, he came from one of the foreign universities to complete his studies here. He requested for transfer and he was offered.”
The Registrar, Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, Alhaja Rasheedat Oladimeji, expressed the hope that the university would record influx of foreign transfer of students.
She, however, stated that the university had just started admission for the next academic session and was hopeful that some foreign students would seek transfer to the institution.
The spokesperson for Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Mr. Afeez Olaniyi, said the institution was prepared to accept returnee foreign students.
“We will be glad to receive them. Yes, we do accept foreign students if they meet the requirements. We have been accepting over the years,” he said.
The Admissions Officer of Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State, Mr. Adewale Ayewole, also said the institution would gladly receive any returnee student, stating, “If they have the right qualification, we will accept them. If the course the student wants to study is run in our school, we will accept them.”
Asked if the institution had been receiving requests from overseas students, Ayewole asked Saturday PUNCH to forward an email to the school’s registrar. However, the registrar had yet to respond to the request as of the time of publishing this story.
But an official of Landmark University, Omu-Aran, Kwara State, said the institution doesn’t accept foreign students.
He said, “If the concerned students have passports, they will be admitted as international students, but they cannot serve in the National Youth Service Corps scheme after the completion of their programmes. They have to go abroad for their Master’s before they can serve.
“However, if the students do not have passports, they have to write the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination and be admitted like any other local student.”
Though it has been receiving transfer requests from Nigerians studying abroad, an official of Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, said the school does not accept such requests because of its “peculiar” curriculum.
The official said, “As far as Covenant University is concerned, we don’t admit students into 200 Level or any other higher level. They must start from the scratch because of the peculiarity of our curriculum. If we are to admit them as they are requesting, we will somehow alter our curriculum which we don’t do. Such a student must seek admission afresh by taking the UTME.”
Meanwhile, some parents whose children are schooling abroad have said that their final year students have been engaging in menial jobs, among other means, to sustain themselves.
A parent, Mrs. Abigail Ademuyiwa, whose son is studying in the University of Kyiv, Ukraine, stated that her son was in the final year, but had been seeking scholarship to complete his education following her inability to send money to him.
She said “Since last year that the foreign exchange has affected the naira, the money I have been sending to him is no longer enough to take care of him, but he told me that he had been seeking scholarship there to complete his education, apart from engaging in menial jobs to cater for himself. He will graduate this year.”
A man, Alhaji Ahmed Sani, said he would have loved to bring his 21-year-old son from Ghana to complete his education at home, but he was constrained because he was in his final year.
Sani said, “The tuition I paid in his first two years was not up to what I paid after the forex crisis. Before, I used to pay N200, 000 per session, but I now pay N400, 000.
“If not because he is in his final year, I would have loved to bring him back to complete his education at home.”
He, however, told one of correspondents that two of his friends whose children still had more than two academic sessions to complete their studies had sought placements for them in Nigerian universities.
A Minna-based businessman, Alhaji Jebo Mohammed, lamented that it had not been easy for him to access forex to fund his children’s education abroad.
Mohammed, however, said in spite of the forex crisis, he would endeavour to ensure that they finished their education abroad. “It is a commitment and task that must be done,” he said.
The Vice-Chancellor, Caleb University, Imota, Lagos State, Prof. Ayandiji Daniel Aina, said though his university had yet to receive applications from students seeking transfer from abroad, it was logical for parents who could no longer afford their children’s tuition because of the forex crisis to bring them back home for the completion of their studies.
Asked if his university would admit such students if they sought to transfer to the school, Aina said, “They are welcome, but we are not basing our readiness to admit them on the forex crisis.”
Nigeria’s debt to World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) rose by $2.08 billion in one year to $19.89 billion as of December 31, 2025, according to an analysis of external debt stock data released by the Debt Management Office (DMO).
The figure represents an 11.7 per cent increase from the $17.81bn owed to the global lender as of December 31, 2024.
So-called IDA is a member of the World Bank Group, headquartered in Washington, D.C. offering concessional loans and grants to the world’s poorest developing countries.
According to the report, Nigeria’s total debt to the IDA rose to roughly $18.2 billion to $18.7 billion by the end of 2025, making it the third-largest borrower globally from the IDA, behind Bangladesh and Pakistan.
DMO data showed that Nigeria’s IDA debt rose from $16.56 billion in 2024 to $18.51 billion n in 2025, an increase of $1.94 billion or 11.73 per cent.
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) exposure also increased from $1.24 billion to $1.38 billion, representing an increase of $141.84million or 11.41 per cent.
The increase means World Bank loans accounted for 38.36 per cent of Nigeria’s total external debt stock of $51.86 billion, as of the end of 2025.
News
World Health Summit Regional Meeting Opens in Nairobi, Focuses on Stronger African Health Systems
The 2026 World Health Summit Regional Meeting opened in Nairobi on Wednesday with a strong call for coordinated action to build more resilient health systems across Africa.
The summit, hosted by Aga Khan University in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), Kenya’s Ministry of Health, and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), attracted over 2,000 health leaders, policymakers, researchers, and development partners from more than 50 countries.
The meeting is themed: “Reimagining Africa’s Health Systems: Innovation, Integration and Interdependence.”
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Kenya’s President, William Ruto, urged African governments, health institutions, donor agencies, and development partners to move away from fragmented interventions and adopt system-wide reforms anchored on local ownership, strategic investment, and accountability.
Ruto said Africa must reposition itself within the global health architecture by leveraging its strengths and becoming a source of scalable health solutions rather than being viewed solely through the lens of persistent challenges.
“This imbalance is neither sustainable nor tenable. It calls for a decisive shift from fragmented, piecemeal interventions to comprehensive, system-wide transformation backed by coherent strategy, domestic and international financing, and accountable institutions,” he said.
President of the World Health Summit, Prof. Axel Pries, described the Nairobi meeting as a reflection of Africa’s growing influence in shaping global health priorities.
He said the summit was designed to convene leaders across sectors and regions to translate policy discussions into practical actions that strengthen health systems globally.
Also speaking, Prof. Lukoye Atwoli, International President of the World Health Summit Regional Meeting and Dean of Medical College East Africa at Aga Khan University, said the summit marked a shift in Africa’s role in global health governance.
“For too long, Africa has been the subject of health conversations held elsewhere. Today, African institutions, researchers, and policymakers are co-authors of global health policy,” Atwoli said.
President and Vice Chancellor of Aga Khan University, Dr. Sulaiman Shahabuddin, said despite ongoing challenges such as climate change, chronic diseases, inadequate funding, digital inequality, and workforce gaps, Africa’s health sector is increasingly better positioned to integrate systems, deploy technology, and develop talent for quality healthcare delivery.
WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Mohamed Yakub Janabi, said the summit offered an important opportunity to strengthen collaboration and advance universal health coverage through robust primary healthcare systems.
According to him, discussions at the summit are expected to generate a practical blueprint for building a more coherent and integrated health ecosystem across the continent.
Kenya’s Principal Secretary for Public Health and Professional Standards, Mary Muthoni, said global health security must remain a top priority for governments.
“Global health security is not a luxury; it is a prerequisite for national stability. We must move from reactive crisis management to proactive pandemic preparedness,” she said.
Director-General of Africa CDC, Dr. Jean Kaseya, stressed the need for Africa to finance and build resilient health systems at scale to strengthen health security and reduce dependence on external support.
He said the Nairobi meeting provides a strategic platform for mobilising investments, strengthening partnerships, and advancing African-led healthcare solutions.
The summit will feature over 80 sessions focused on health financing, workforce development, digital health innovation, climate and health, and strengthening universal health coverage.
The meeting continues over the coming days with further discussions expected on emerging health challenges and long-term healthcare resilience across Africa.
The UK-Nigeria Technology Hub has launched its Creative Fund, a first‑phase grants initiative designed to address critical technical capacity gaps across Nigeria’s film, fashion, and music industries.
The fund will support the development of local digital production capacity, encourage the adoption of modern creative technologies, and promote the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), to strengthen Nigeria’s creative value chain.
The initiative directly supports the priorities of the UK‑Nigeria Economic Transformation and Investment Partnership (ETIP) Creatives Working Group launched in March 2025 and the delivers on commitments made during President Tinubu’s State visit to the UK in March 2026. It is designed to ensure that high potential creative projects can access the technical talent, tools, and resources required to produce, scale and complete their work locally.
Funded by the UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, under the UK Government’s Digital Access Programme and implemented by Tech4Dev, the Creative Fund responds directly evidence gathered through the State of the Creative Innovation Ecosystem in Nigeria, study in 2024. Drawing on over 1,700 survey responses, and fieldwork across seven states, the research showed that Nigeria’s creative economy employs approximately 4.2 million people and contributes around US$3 billion to GDP annually.
Despite this scale, the sector continues to face structural constraints – over 80% of practitioners are self-taught, fewer than 10% have access to formal financing, and high-value technical work is routinely outsourced outside the country. The Creative Fund is a direct response to these gaps, and central to the work of the ETIP Creative working Group.
Oyinkansola Akintola‑Bello, Director of the UK‑Nigeria Tech Hub, said: “Nigeria’s creative sector already delivers real economic value, and both governments have committed under the UK‑Nigeria Economic Transformation and Investment Partnership to supporting its growth.
“Through the ETIP Creatives Working Group, we are moving from ambition to action. The Creative Fund is a practical first‑phase intervention that addresses critical gaps in skills, infrastructure, and access to advanced tools, enabling Nigerian creatives to produce and scale high‑quality work locally.”
The Fund will support high-potential creative projects covering three industries; Film, Fashion, Music and will focus on initiatives that demonstrate strong potential for impact, scalability, and job creation.
It will subsidise projects that need to close technical gaps including critical specialists like VFX artists, sound engineers, post-production editors, and design professionals, or the digital tools and resources that make professional-quality work possible locally, for example digital asset management systems, content delivery tools, Digital Rights Management solutions, and AI-driven production technologies. The aim is straightforward; Nigeria’s best creative work should be made in Nigeria.
Abraham Akpan, Tech4Dev’s Country Manager for Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa said: “The Creative industries are a core part of the digital economy, bringing together technology, culture and entrepreneurship.
“This Fund is about ensuring that Nigeria’s creative success is underpinned by sustainable local talent and capacity, while deliberately expanding access to tools, skills and finance for those who have been historically excluded. By prioritising women-led enterprises, youth-led ventures, and underrepresented groups, the fund embeds inclusion into every stage of delivery.”
The Fund is open to creative companies, studios, production houses, fashion enterprises, and music labels leading projects with clear technical needs. Applications will be assessed on project quality, its potential for local and international impact, and the applicant’s level of commitment to co-investment.
The initiative also encourages the responsible use of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence with selected projects expected to explore its application in production, storytelling, and innovation.
Applications are open now and will be accepted on a rolling basis throughout the programme period.
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