Students expose fossil fuel industry influence at Nigerian universities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 2, 2024

NIGERIA - Students from three universities released a report titled “The Links Between the Fossil Fuel Industry and Academic Institutions in Nigeria: Future Implications.” The report details the fossil fuel industry’s influence on Nigerian universities and its impact on research priorities, funding of scholarships, career recruitment, and educational initiatives. It highlights case studies of fossil fuel industry influence at the University of Port Harcourt, the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, and Tai Solarin University of Education.

The report calls out conflicts of interest associated with funding for Nigerian public education that comes from the fossil fuel industry, an industry responsible for environmental degradation and human rights violations in Nigeria. It provides evidence that corporate contributions to public education value fossil fuel industry interests over the public good and shows that fossil fuel industry funding is not an adequate solution to government underfunding of public education. 

The report found that all three universities examined have indirect or direct partnerships with the fossil fuel industry, with a prominent example being the Institute of Petroleum Studies (IPS) at the University of Port Harcourt, which is funded by the fossil fuel industry. It also identified evidence that the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) has received consistent funding from Chevron, raising significant questions about the integrity of Nigeria's leading conservation and sustainable development organization. 

This research was conducted by Nigerian student researchers in the Campus Climate Network, a coalition of student-led climate justice groups who are pushing their universities to cut ties with Big Oil. The report provides more weight to the case that students around the world have already been making – that the fossil fuel industry has no place at our universities. 

“Conservation organizations like the Nigerian Conservation Foundation must be transparent and held accountable in their operations. Without this, we risk perpetuating cycles of greenwashing and political gimmicks, where environmental conservation efforts are influenced by sponsorships from major oil players,” said one of the student report authors, who opted to remain anonymous. 

“It is obvious that major oil player sponsors create a questionable scenario where corporate interests easily trump the environment. One cannot overemphasize the need to switch towards more considerate and sustainable forms of education and climate financing,” said another report author, who also chose to remain anonymous.

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