There are moments in the life of a University that feel less like an event and more like an epiphany – moments when the fog of institutional fatigue lifts just enough for an old truth to shimmer again. The newly released 2026 Times Higher Education (THE) Interdisciplinary Science Rankings is one such moment. It has rearranged the continental academic order, surprised many, validated some, and, perhaps most importantly, reawakened the quiet ambitions of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN). Covenant University has claimed the headline with a thunderclap – 49th in the world, first in Africa, and the lone African institution in the coveted global top 50. What a feat! What a phenomenon! What a historical punctuation mark! But while the spotlight dazzles in Ota, a quieter yet equally consequential glow emerges from Nsukka: UNN sits at 161 globally, second in Nigeria, and second in Africa. This is not a trivial detail. It is an academic declaration with political, philosophical, and symbolic resonances. And when read against another coincidence – that Prof. Simon Ortuanya has just completed his first 100 days as Vice Chancellor – it becomes a story worth telling slowly, carefully, and with the kind of intellectual tenderness reserved for institutions that have endured more than they have enjoyed. This is where I invite you to connect the dots.
*Dot One: The Theology of Rankings and the New Gospel of Interdisciplinarity*
The global university ranking industry has often been criticised for its obsession with citations, patents, endowments, STEM outputs, and research volume. But the THE Interdisciplinary Science Rankings – now in its second edition – signal a paradigm shift. It rewards universities that break down academic silos and weave together knowledge from diverse fields: engineering with psychology, medicine with data science, environmental science with economics, law with biotechnology, and language with artificial intelligence. It measures 11 crucial indicators, including but not limited to research quality, cross-disciplinary publications, external funding, institutional support structures, reputation, and collaborative strength. This ranking is not simply asking: ‘How much knowledge do you produce?’ It is asking: ‘How do the various knowledges in your institution talk to one another?’ For UNN to excel in such a ranking means that beneath the surface of its sometimes chaotic academic environment, something structurally meaningful has been happening. Whether in pockets or in clusters, whether by individual brilliance or by administrative scaffolding, UNN has been weaving connections across disciplines – slowly, steadily, and quietly. This brings us to the second dot.
*Dot Two: The Cumulative Labour of Past Administrations*
One of the most intellectually irresponsible impulses in academia is the temptation to credit major institutional achievements to a single administrator’s tenure, especially when such achievements occur within their first 100 days in office. But universities are not construction companies; they are ecosystems of slow gestation and multi-layered effort. The UNN ranking is the product of years of incremental reforms: digitalisation drives, quality assurance mechanisms, research development initiatives, postgraduate programme expansion, interdisciplinary workshops and centres, curriculum modernisation, staff training and external collaborations. These were cultivated by multiple administrations. They were fertilised by the patience of staff who taught through dilapidated infrastructure, by postgraduate students who pursued research in the midst of funding droughts, by administrators who navigated policy turbulence, and by scholars who refused to give up on intellectual integrity. It is important – ethically, academically, and historically – to name this truth: the present glory is a relay, not a sprint. But there is a third dot that gives the narrative its dramatic arc.
*Dot Three: The Ortuanya Inflection Point and the Poetry of Timing*
Timing is often underrated in leadership analysis. Yet, timing can convert ordinary achievements into powerful symbols. When Prof. Simon Ortuanya assumed office in August 2025, he inherited an institution with scattered strengths, chronic challenges, and latent potential. Barely 100 days later – on the eve of this symbolic milestone – the global ranking arrives like a poetic interruption, a providential reminder that UNN is not starting from zero. It is starting from possibility. Let us be clear. This ranking did not emerge because Ortuanya waved a wand within 100 days. Such claims would insult the intelligence of the academic community. However, the release of the ranking within his first 100 days is a gift of timing, a symbolic endorsement, and an administrative tonic. It gives him an early narrative advantage. It injects energy into his reform agenda. It lifts the institutional mood. It strengthens his mandate. In leadership psychology, such moments matter. Because universities run on morale as much as on metrics.
*Dot Four: Covenant’s Thunder, UNN’s Echo, and the Continental Challenge*
Covenant University did not become Africa’s No. 1 by accident. Their disciplined governance model, robust faculty incentives, functional research architecture, and consistent funding have created an academic environment many public universities envy. UNN’s rise to the second position in Africa is therefore not a threat but a benchmark, an invitation to rethink public university governance, rethink infrastructural stagnation, rethink research funding, and rethink leadership culture. If Covenant’s ascendancy is thunder, UNN’s movement is the echo signalling the next storm. Under Ortuanya, the question is no longer: ‘Can UNN compete?’
It is now: ‘How soon before UNN challenges Covenant?’
*Dot Five: The Lion and the Possibility of a Renaissance*
Institutions, like people, can suffer from long periods of self-doubt. For years, UNN endured a crisis of confidence – burdened by nostalgia, slowed by bureaucracy, and distracted by internal conflicts. The Lion, once majestic, seemed content to sleep. But this ranking suggests a stirring in the forest.
Something is shifting.
Something is reawakening.
Something is returning to itself.
This is where Ortuanya’s leadership becomes crucial.
His administrative temperament – structured, calm, deliberate, and legally grounded – aligns naturally with the demands of an institution attempting to rebuild itself from the inside out. The ranking’s timing hands him a metaphorical megaphone: a chance to rally the ‘only University of Nigeria’ with data, not dreams; with evidence, not emotion. He now has the wind at his back.
*Dot Six: Beyond Rankings – Toward a Future of Purpose and Policy*
If UNN must ascend further in the next THE cycle, several imperatives demand attention:
1. Institutionalise interdisciplinarity: Create multi-faculty research clusters. Encourage team teaching. Expand cross-disciplinary postgraduate programmes.
2. Build functional research environments: Laboratories, digital repositories, ethical review boards, grant management systems are not luxuries but necessities.
3. Strengthen global collaborations: Visibility attracts partnerships. Partnerships attract funding. Funding attracts excellence.
4. Promote postgraduate research culture: Without a vibrant postgraduate ecosystem, no university can climb global rankings sustainably.
5. Streamline administrative cultures: Simplify processes. Reduce bureaucratic drag. Embrace digital workflows. Reward productivity.
These are reforms that align naturally with Ortuanya’s administrative DNA.
*Dot Seven: Why This Moment Matters*
The significance of this ranking, within this moment, under this leadership, cannot be overstated.
It is a story of convergence: of past labour, present opportunity, and future potential.
It is a story of continuity: of foundations built, a structure inherited, and a vision emerging.
It is a story of becoming: not what UNN once was, but what UNN can now aspire to be.
The ranking confirms something many critics forgot: UNN is not a relic. It is a contender. And contenders do not sleep; they sharpen their claws.
*Connecting the Final Dots*
When a university rises in global rankings, numbers change. But more importantly, narratives change. And when narratives change, destinies shift. With UNN’s ascent to 161 globally, with Covenant’s spectacular performance defining the continental frontier, and with Prof. Ortuanya’s 100 days intersecting with this historic ranking, the dots connect themselves into a compelling picture:
A university is remembering its strength.
A leadership is receiving a timely tailwind.
A continent is witnessing a new academic rivalry.
A future is knocking with insistence.
The Lion has found its voice again.
The forest is listening.
And the echo is unmistakable: Indeed, Simon is working.
This is how the dots connect.
This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.