University of Lagos : UNILAG

University of Lagos : UNILAG at a glance

The University of Lagos, widely known as UNILAG, was established on 22 October 1962 by Act No. 11. Its founding came shortly after Nigeria's independence, when the country needed a larger supply of professionally trained people to staff public institutions, schools, businesses and the emerging national economy. The university's official historical account describes a planned development that passed through three construction phases between 1962 and 1970. UNILAG also records that its College of Medicine received its first twenty-eight medical students in October 1962, showing how professional education formed part of the institution's earliest work. From that beginning, the university developed into a broad federal institution in Lagos, with academic activity extending across medicine, engineering, law, science, education, management, arts, social sciences and other disciplines. Its location in a major commercial and cultural city has kept the university closely connected to public institutions, industry and the wider society. UNILAG's history is thus tied to the manpower needs of a newly independent country, the growth of Lagos and the expansion of university teaching and research. Its continuing role is to produce knowledge and graduates for Nigeria and the international community.

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