University of Ibadan

The University of Ibadan (UI) is a federal university located in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Initially founded as the University College Ibadan in 1948, it maintained its affiliation with the University of London. In 1962, it became an independent institution, making it the oldest degree-awarding institution in Nigeria. The University of Ibadan has significantly contributed to Nigeria's political, industrial, economic, and cultural development through its extensive network of graduates.

UI enrolls about 33,000 students, is internationally recognized, and has a number of accomplished alumni.

The university was established in 1948 as University College Ibadan, a branch of the University of London, which supervised its academic programs and awarded degrees until 1967. The establishment came as a result of a recommendation from the Asquith and the Elliot Commissions on Higher Education in the then-British colonies, that two Universities stemming from the University of London should be set up in Ghana and Nigeria. Before 1948, Yaba College had been founded in 1932 in Yaba, Lagos, as the first tertiary educational institute in Nigeria, focused primarily on providing post-secondary vocational education and teacher training to Africans.

However, the limited aims of Yaba College and clamor by Nigerian nationalists for self-improvement and uninhibited education led to the establishment of University College Ibadan as the first degree-awarding institution in Nigeria in 1948. Staff and students from Yaba Higher College were transferred to Ibadan to form the new University College Ibadan.

Modelled after the British university system, Kenneth Mellanby was appointed in 1947 as its first principal, and he inaugurated the university college on 18 January 1948. The sod of its permanent site was cut on 17 November 1948, a date now known as its Founders' Day. The university's first buildings were designed by eminent modernist architects Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew. Following the tropical modernist style, the 1950s construction comprised administrative blocks, residential colleges and academic facilities.

Following Nigeria's independence in 1960 and the subsequent drive to domesticate several institutions, UCI became an established full-fledged independent university in early 1962 and thus, the name changed to University of Ibadan.

In late 1963, on the university playing fields, with a celebration marked by talking drums, the Rt. Hon. Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the first Prime Minister of independent Nigeria, became the first Chancellor of this independent university. The first Nigerian vice-chancellor of the university was Kenneth Dike, after whom the university library is named.

The university consistently ranks as one of the best in Nigeria. In September 2016, it became the first Nigerian university to make the top 1,000 in Times Higher Education rankings. Prior to that, it had always made the top 10 African Universities in Webometrics Rankings. UI is currently ranked No. 1 in Nigeria and 1,177 in the world according to Webometrics. The US News and World Report rank the University as the 350th in Best Global Universities.