Becoming “Administrative Academics”: Workload And The Future Of Academia In Nigeria

Universities are established primarily to create, preserve and disseminate knowledge. They achieve these goals through teaching, research and community service. Yet, in many Nigerian universities today, an increasing number of academics spend more time attending meetings, processing documents, writing reports, responding to official correspondence and performing other administrative duties than engaging in scholarship. Many lecturers are gradually becoming what may be described as “administrative academics”—scholars whose academic identity is increasingly overshadowed by administrative responsibilities.

Administration is undoubtedly indispensable in higher education. Every university requires committees, departmental coordination, quality assurance mechanisms, accreditation exercises, student affairs management and institutional planning. Without effective administration, academic activities would descend into disorder. The concern, however, is not the existence of administrative work but its growing dominance over the traditional responsibilities of academics.

The average Nigerian lecturer today wears numerous hats. Beyond preparing lectures and assessing students, many coordinate programmes, supervise projects, manage admissions, prepare accreditation documents, serve on multiple committees, attend endless meetings and produce reports for internal and external agencies. Those occupying leadership positions such as heads of departments, deans, directors and coordinators often shoulder even heavier administrative burdens while maintaining their teaching and research obligations.

Ironically, the performance appraisal systems in many universities continue to emphasise research productivity. Promotion depends significantly on publications, conference participation and scholarly visibility. Consequently, lecturers find themselves trapped in a difficult cycle. Administrative duties consume the time required for research, yet research remains the primary criterion for career advancement. The result is fatigue, stress and declining scholarly productivity.

Research is not an activity that thrives on fragmented attention. It requires uninterrupted periods of reading, reflection, data collection, analysis and writing. A lecturer who spends most working hours signing documents, attending meetings or resolving administrative issues often has little intellectual energy left for meaningful scholarship. Academic writing becomes a weekend assignment or a holiday project instead of an integral part of everyday professional life.

Teaching also suffers. Effective teaching extends far beyond standing before students to deliver lectures. It requires continuous updating of knowledge, curriculum review, innovative pedagogical practices and meaningful interaction with learners. Administrative overload reduces the time lecturers can devote to lesson preparation, student mentoring and constructive feedback. Ultimately, students bear part of the cost of an overstretched academic workforce.

The implications extend beyond individual careers. Universities rise in reputation largely through the quality of their research outputs, innovation and intellectual contributions. When academics become overwhelmed by bureaucracy, institutional research output may decline, international collaborations may diminish and opportunities for securing competitive research grants may be lost. A university rich in committees but poor in scholarship risks losing its relevance in an increasingly knowledge-driven world.

Nigeria’s higher education system cannot afford this trajectory. The country requires universities that generate solutions to national problems in agriculture, health, technology, governance, language, education and the creative industries. Such contributions emerge from environments where academics have sufficient time to think, investigate and publish—not from systems where paperwork consistently takes precedence over intellectual work.

This does not imply that academics should avoid administration. Leadership remains an essential aspect of academic life. Departments require competent heads, faculties need visionary deans and universities depend on committed administrators who understand academic values. Indeed, some of the finest university administrators have been distinguished scholars. The challenge is to achieve a healthy balance between administration and scholarship.

Universities should therefore rethink workload allocation. Administrative assignments should be distributed equitably, with due consideration for teaching load and ongoing research commitments. Routine administrative processes should be digitised to reduce paperwork and repetitive manual tasks. Professional administrative officers should be empowered to handle purely clerical responsibilities, allowing academics to concentrate on functions requiring scholarly expertise.

Equally important is the need for institutional recognition of administrative labour. If universities expect academics to undertake substantial administrative responsibilities, such contributions should be meaningfully reflected in performance evaluation without undermining the central importance of research excellence. Balanced assessment frameworks would encourage effective leadership while protecting scholarly productivity.

Individual academics also have responsibilities. They should learn to manage time strategically, decline and cultivate research habits that remain resilient despite institutional pressures. Young academics like myself, in particular, should be cautious about accepting excessive administrative roles too early in our careers, as these may inadvertently slow our scholarly development.

The future of Nigerian academia depends not only on increased funding or improved infrastructure but also on how academic time is protected. Universities flourish when scholars are given adequate opportunities to teach thoughtfully, research rigorously and serve society meaningfully. Administration should facilitate these goals rather than compete with them.

The Nigerian university of the future must produce academics who are effective administrators when duty calls, but who remain, above all, scholars. The objective should not be to create administrative academics, but academic administrators—individuals whose administrative service strengthens, rather than diminishes, the core mission of the university.

(c) 2026 Ganiu Bamgbose writes from Lagos.