By Siyan Oyeweso
At difficult junctures in our national life, especially when emotions run high, it becomes important for reasoned voices to offer clarity, not as an act of defence, but of responsibility. The recent concerns surrounding the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) administered by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) have understandably generated intense reactions.
As someone privileged to have known Prof. Is-haq Olanrewaju Oloyede for several decades, as a scholar of distinction, an experienced university administrator, and a man deeply rooted in personal and professional integrity, I feel compelled to offer a few reflections. We must first acknowledge the fact of the matter: a technical disruption occurred during the 2025 UTME, affecting many centres across the country.
This is unfortunate, and JAMB has been forthright in accepting the disruption, investigating the root causes, and initiating a resit for the affected candidates. That is leadership in action, not deflection, not denial.
Where others might have dismissed public outcry or buried the matter under bureaucracy, Oloyede and his team responded with clarity and urgency. In doing so, they upheld the public’s right to transparency, even at personal and institutional cost.To properly situate the recent UTME disruption, it is vital to recognise that similar technical failures have occurred in standardized examinations globally, from the SAT, ACT, and LSAT in the United States, to Oxford University’s admission tests in the UK, and India’s CAT and JEE.
In each case, authorities acknowledged the failures, provided redress through retakes or refunds, and maintained leadership continuity to preserve institutional integrity. JAMB’s response which includes accepting responsibility, offering resits, and constructively engaging stakeholders like Alex Onyia of Educare, mirrors these global best practices.
What is troubling, however, is the weaponization of this disruption to stoke ethnic and religious hostilities against Oloyede, whose transparency, accountability, and calm resolve embody the very qualities Nigeria’s public service urgently requires. Those calling for Oloyede’s resignation may be well meaning, but we must reflect on this: What precedent are we setting when an honest admission of failure and a prompt corrective response are met with calls for exit? Do we not, in such moments, risk discouraging accountability, rather than encouraging it?
No public figure is above scrutiny, and Oloyede himself would be the last to ask for a pass. But scrutiny must be fair, rooted in facts, and weighed against a person’s track record. Leadership is not judged by the absence of setbacks, but by the character shown when they arise. In this moment, JAMB’s response has been sober, swift and sincere. That should count for something. Prof. Is-haq Oloyede’s reforms at JAMB have significantly curbed examination malpractices and contributed to raising educational standards in Nigeria. By introducing strict biometric verification, real-time CCTV surveillance and stricter accreditation of CBT centres, Oloyede dismantled long-standing networks of cheating and impersonation.
The adoption of the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) further ensured transparency and meritocracy in admissions, reducing human interference and backdoor entries. These innovations not only restored public confidence in JAMB’s examinations but also set a new benchmark for integrity-driven assessment in Nigeria’s education sector, compelling other examination bodies to emulate JAMB’s standards. Since 2016, Oloyede has led a financial turnaround at JAMB, generating over ₦50 billion in surplus within six years, compared to just ₦52 million in the board’s previous 40 years. Of this, ₦29 billion was remitted to the federal government, ₦11 billion used for capital projects, and ₦6 billion saved – all achieved through cost control, curbing leakages and eliminating corruption. Despite reducing UTME fees from ₦5,000 to ₦3,500, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, under his watch, has remained both transparent and highly productive. This has neither compromised the integrity of the board nor led to institutional weaknesses in any way; rather, it has strengthened operational efficiency, enhanced public trust and positioned the board as a model of accountability in Nigeria’s education sector.
It is also important to address, with caution and civility, the insinuation that these disruptions were a deliberate attempt to target any ethnic group. That claim is unhelpful and unsupported. The affected centres cut across various geopolitical zones, and there is nothing in the response of JAMB so far that suggests any form of ethnic bias or discriminatory intent. Nigeria is complex enough; we must avoid introducing divisions where evidence does not justify them. What must not be lost in the noise is the larger context.
Under Oloyede’s stewardship, JAMB has undergone one of the most remarkable transformations in Nigeria’s public sector: digital innovation, consistent remittances to the national treasury, robust examination integrity, and greater access for disadvantaged groups, including visually impaired candidates. These are not claims; they are visible realities. Oloyede and I share more than academic kinship.
We are both Fellows of the Nigerian Academy of Letters, an honour reserved for scholars of profound distinction in the humanities. But beyond that, I have watched him work, reform and serve with rare moral clarity.
In a public space often short on trust, his kind is still needed. Let us correct what needs correction. Let us ask hard questions where necessary. But let us also be careful not to tear down institutions and people who have consistently stood for what is right. May Nigeria continue to produce public servants whose conscience remains their compass. And may we, as a people, recognise such conscience when it speaks.
(Oyeweso is the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Governing Council, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife)
