Africa-Press – Nigeria. Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has expressed concern over what he described as a growing pattern of cancelled academic engagements in Nigerian universities, following the sudden withdrawal of a scheduled lecture at Obafemi Awolowo University.
He disclosed this in a statement posted on his official page on April 25 2026.
According to him, he was billed to deliver a keynote address at the institution by 9am before proceeding to Ibadan for a political summit, but was informed at the last minute that the university event would no longer hold as planned.
Obi noted that the invitation had been extended months earlier, with preparations already concluded before the cancellation.
While describing the incident as concerning, he said it was not an isolated case, claiming that similar situations have occurred repeatedly in recent times.
“This has now happened more than ten times. This is no longer incidental; it points to a troubling pattern,” he said.
He further recalled a similar development involving his alma mater University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where a planned lecture in honour of former Vice Chancellor, Frank Ndili, was also called off on the scheduled date.
According to him, such developments go beyond personal inconvenience and raise broader concerns about the state of intellectual freedom in the country.
“Universities are meant to be centres of learning, open dialogue, and the free exchange of ideas,” he stated, warning that repeated disruptions could signal a shift away from those ideals.
Drawing comparisons with his recent academic engagements abroad, Obi said he had been able to interact freely with students and scholars in institutions such as University of Oxford, Harvard University and University of Cambridge, where open discourse is encouraged.
He stressed that Nigeria’s development depends largely on its ability to sustain spaces for knowledge exchange and critical thinking.
“We must ask ourselves what kind of nation we are building if spaces meant for intellectual engagement are gradually shrinking,” he added.
Obi maintained that the country must protect its academic institutions and ensure they remain platforms where ideas can be shared freely without restriction.
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