Nigerian Heartbroken After Returning Home From Banned Benin University Without a Degree

Ojuede Ojuejo, a 22-year-old Nigerian student, returned home devastated after the Nigerian government declared degrees from universities in Benin Republic, including her own at ESTAM University, invalid, leaving her and thousands of other students without recognized qualifications.

In a devastating turn of events, Ojuede Ojuejo (pseudonym), a 22-year-old from Lagos State, has returned home heartbroken after the Nigerian government declared degrees from some universities in Benin Republic and Togo invalid. This announcement has shattered the dreams of thousands of Nigerian students, including Ojuejo, who spent two years at ESTAM University in Benin Republic, only to discover her efforts were in vain.

Ojuejo, speaking with FIJ, shared her distress following the government’s recent declaration. She is now grappling with the difficult task of informing her parents that her time and money were wasted. “Returning home without a degree is not only embarrassing but heartbreaking, especially as my peers from secondary school have advanced farther than I have,” she said.

Her journey to ESTAM University began in November 2022 when she came across an Instagram advertisement offering a 50% scholarship at ESAE, another Benin-based university. Although she was not selected, she was drawn to the prospect of studying abroad, where her education would not be disrupted by Nigeria’s frequent Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strikes.

A friend then recommended ESTAM University, and Ojuejo quickly enrolled after submitting her academic documents and paying a N50,000 acceptance fee. “It felt like school — just like in Nigeria,” she recalled. However, her hopes were dashed when the Nigerian government recently banned several institutions, including ESTAM.

According to Ojuejo, about 90% of the student population at ESTAM consists of Nigerians, many of whom are now in limbo. “Many parents have contacted the school, but they claim they’re working on the situation,” she added.

Now back in Nigeria, Ojuejo is uncertain about her future. Many of her peers are considering starting afresh by taking the University Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) to eventually qualify for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). “I don’t know what to do yet. My time and money are gone. I’m in my final year, but now I have no choice but to return and start over,” she lamented.

The invalidation of these degrees followed an investigation in December 2023 by Daily Nigerian, which revealed how easily fake degrees from universities in Benin Republic and Togo could be obtained. These degrees were often used to secure employment or qualify for the NYSC programme. An undercover journalist was even able to acquire a degree in Mass Communication from a Cotonou-based university without attending classes or sitting for exams.

In response to the investigation, the Federal Government of Nigeria suspended the evaluation and accreditation of degrees from these countries in January. By August 2024, the government had officially declared all degrees issued by 45 Benin Republic universities since 2017 invalid. Employers were instructed to identify employees with unrecognized qualifications, and NYSC data revealed that between 2019 and 2023, 21,684 individuals had obtained fraudulent certificates from Benin Republic, while another 1,105 held fake degrees from Togo.

As Nigerian students like Ojuejo return home with their futures in jeopardy, many are left to rebuild their educational paths from scratch, hoping for a clearer route to legitimate academic recognition.

READ ALSO: [FULL LIST] Fake Degree Scandal: FG Identifies Recognized Universities in Togo and Benin Republic

SOURCES: ALLSCHOOL, FIJ