Student protests have become a common feature in most Nigerian universities since the 1960's. Sometimes the University Authorities themselves are accused of facilitating these protests. The purpose of this dissertation was therefore to establish the incidence of protests in three federal government universities chosen according to size, age, and location in terms of the erstwhile Northern, Western, and Eastern Regions of the country. Furthermore, it was to find out the extent to which the University Authorities ever contributed to causing or escalating these protests. It was thus an exploratory study of description, exposition, and analysis of the protest and response phenomenon at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (1962-1982); University of Benin (1970-1982), and University of Port Harcourt (1976-1982).
The research methodology involved an extensive document search and personal interviews. A total of sixty persons proportionately drawn from the Administration, the academic staff, the student body, and alumni were interviewed from the three universities. In addition, nine persons were interviewed from outside the three universities. Notable amongst them were a former Vice-Chancellor of Nigeria's premier university, a former State Commissioner for Education, and editors of the newspapers published within the vicinity of these institutions.
The study found that irrespective of size, age, and location, all the three universities have had protests from peaceful to violent ones. Causes hinged mainly on cafeteria services, water and electricity, accommodation, and, government policies deemed unfavorable to student or national interests. The Authorities of the three universities were all found conciliatory in their responses to protests. Each instance of their closing their universities or enlisting police assistance during protests was done because life and property appeared endangered. The University Authorities were not found having directly caused or inflamed protests.
To minimize the frequency and enormity of protests in the three universities and in the Nigerian university system in general certainly rests on input from the students, Government, and the University Authorities respectively. The dissertation has made recommendations accordingly. University and Government policy-making which affect student interests should henceforth enlist much more student input. And in dealing with students, Vice-Chancellors should be more of men of wisdom and diplomacy than of strength.
