This study investigated the crisis in higher education in Nigeria thirty years after independence. Two universities in Anambra State were selected for research: the University of Nigeria, Nsukka; and the Anambra State University of Technology, Enugu.
The study used historical-descriptive methods. In-depth, open-ended questions were given to twenty-four practitioners and theoreticians in higher education inside and outside Nigeria.
Data analysis included content analysis of responses for qualitative data and use of Fanon's Triadic Theory and conceptual framework for evaluating findings and drawing conclusions. The study attempted to distinguish between overt and covert dimensions of the crisis.
The study found that the conflict between the format of the universities and the evolutionary movement of the society underlay the ostensive manifestations of the crisis on the university campuses. The study concluded that a solution would involve an agreement between the two.
