Obafemi Awolowo University
The authorities of the Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria’s South-west town of Ile-Ife are celebrating the ranking of the public university as the best in Nigeria and eighth in Africa by the Spain-based research group Cybermetrics Lab.
Shortly after the latest rankings were released by the group, the University issued a statement announcing the development.
It also displayed the news of the rankings conspicuously on its website, announcing: ”LATEST WEBOMETRIC RANKING: AGAIN, OAU RATED THE BEST IN NIGERIA, 8TH IN AFRICA”
University spokesman Abiodun Olanrewaju said the impressive ranking of the institution ”underscored the premium placed on research, development, learning and teaching by the university’s administration”.
In the last rankings released earlier this year, the university was also rated number one in Nigeria but 14th in Africa.
The Obafemi Awolowo University was established in 1962 as The University of Ife. The name of the university was later changed to honour Nigerian nationalist, statesman and politician, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who died in 1987.
PANA reports that other Nigerian tertiary institutions listed in the top five of the rankings are Auchi Polytechnic in the eponymous town of Auchi in southern Edo State, University of Ibadan and University of Lagos both in the South-west as well as the University of Nigeria in Nsukka, in the South-east – in that order.
The top five African universities are the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania; University of South Africa; American University in Cairo, University of Nairobi in Kenya and the Mansoura University in Egypt.
According to Cybermetrics, the Ranking Web or Webometrics is the largest academic ranking of Higher Education Institutions.
Source: Pana
