By Pascal Ibe

Introduction

Nigeria has over 100 universities regulated by the National Universities Commission (NUC) across federal, state, and private ownership.

As a result of the oil boom years of the 1970s, the tertiary level of education was expanded to reach every sub-region of Nigeria.

The federal and state governments were previously the only bodies licensed to operate universities.

 Recently, licenses have been granted to individuals, corporate, and religious bodies to establish private universities in the country. 

However, over the years, there have been two leading academic institutions in the country: the University of Ibadan (UI), Nigeria’s oldest university, was founded in 1948 and is renowned for medicine and research and the  University of Lagos (UNILAG) is a leading public research institution in Lagos known for business, engineering, and law.

Claim

@ibadanuni (University of Ibadan, Nigeria), a blog page on the X platform, has claimed (archived here) that UI is the second-best varsity on the African continent.

In a post on 8 September, the page shared an image of a building on the university campus alongside a caption that reads, “Another Day to remind you that the University of Ibadan is the 2nd Best University in Africa ❤️”

FACTWATCH Nigeria observed that many people who commented on the post believed the claim.

Verification

FACTWATCH Nigeria checked the latest data from Times Higher Education (THE), the most credible university ranking website in the world.

According to THE, it ranks the best universities in Africa based on a comprehensive evaluation that covers areas such as teaching quality, research output, international collaboration, knowledge transfer, and industry connections.

The trusted methodology behind the rankings is developed by Times Higher Education’s expert data team and is relied upon by students, academics, university leaders, policymakers, and industry partners worldwide to make informed decisions about higher education excellence.

Ranking the best universities for 2026 in data released on 16 October 2025, in tabular arrangement, THE listed the University of Cape Town as first in Africa and 164th in the world.

Stellenbosch University and the University of the Witwatersrand were ranked second on the continent and 301-350 in the world.

Mohammed VI Polytechnic University and the University of Johannesburg were listed as the fourth-best, while the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the University of Pretoria were placed in sixth position.

UI and UNILAG are among the 13 universities ranked 12th-best in Africa.

Another university ranking website, QS Top Universities, placed UI as the 11th-best in Africa.

 Verdict

Available statistics showed that the University of Ibadan was not among the top five universities in Africa as of September 2026.

 Therefore, the claim that it is the second-best in Africa is FALSE.