Socio-economic Impact of Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria on Host Community

The establishment of Tertiary institutions of recent has generated a lot of discords and political fracas among Communities on the specific location where it should be sited in Nigeria. This is for the reason that individuals appreciate the fact that location of such institutions in a community could boost rapid development of such areas socially, economically and productive co-existence. Osun state University is a multi-campus university in south-western state of Nigeria. She is hosted by six (6) Communities in the state in order to impact on the Socio-economic development of these Communities and the state at large. In view of this the major objective of this paper is to assess the impact of Tertiary institution on host community within the context of its social and economic changes on the community in which it is located. Both quantitative and qualitative research design was employed while data was collected using a set of questionnaire supplemented with secondary data source from various publications. Analysis of the data collected, was done with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 and ANOVA for goodness of fit at 5% level of significance. The results revealed that the location of the university hassled to an increase in the standard of living of people within these Communities, bring the people closer to each other from various ethnic backgrounds and also brought about employment opportunity and harmonious coexistence to the people of the community. The findings further revealed a positive correlation and cooperative relationship between the institution and its Communities, due to cooperativeness of the indigenes, non-indigenes and both management and students of the institution. The study concluded that location of a Tertiary institution in an area is a stimulus to the area’s rapid growth, provided the activities of such Tertiary institution are well guided and monitored.


Introduction
It is a known fact that Tertiary institutions contribute to the development and advancement of the society and assist the community which hosts them in having a democratic voice in the process of globalization (Ali [1]). The location of any institution in a community has been identified to be of great value to the overall development of an area. Location impact therefore means the influence of a new idea (that is, the environment), this new idea or concept can be in form of an establishment Tertiary encouraged by a state, regional or federal setting. In recent times, there has been a lot of controversy on the location of Tertiary institution in one town or the other, this because people realize the fact that location of such in an area or community could enhance rapid development of such areas Socio-economically (Ehinnwwo & Eludoyin, [2]).
The siting of a Tertiary institution in a community will create employment opportunity for both the skilled and unskilled labour and this will in turn increase the population of the town as a result of people migrating into the town to seek employment opportunity [3]. It could also cause changes in economic activities, changes in building conditions and use in order to cope with the educational trends [4].
Nigeria is a multicultural state formation with over 250 ethnic groups has 570 Tertiary institutions, whose responsibilities apart from Tertiary institution been a teaching and research institution they perform a role that is beyond the realm of education [5]. They are highly significant financial and social institution in the Communities which they operate, offering their Communities educational, research, economic, cultural and social opportunities. In addition, they are expected to play a vital role in integrating the various groups influxes into the Communities and promotes Cohesion between them.
According to Garlick [6] the relationship between Tertiary institution and its community can be describe in three different ways; it can be describe through the structural perspective as a situation in which Tertiary institutions are seen as economic boosters, through the spatial perspective as the association with equity measures such as student placement and also through a third stream perspective which is based on the appreciation of the importance of a region to the Tertiary institution that are located there. However, [7], sees Tertiary institution and their role in local, regional and central development to be engulfed around four basic themes, namely; the notion of centrality of a university; its meaning and purpose; its mission and operations; and, its innovation agenda and new modes of governance. Thus, higher institutions have always had an impact on the local, regional and central development apart from producing trained and educated skilled labour; university research and innovation are often seen as engines of growth and regional development while peaceful coexistence is given priority.
Communities hosting a Tertiary institution will therefore, have to prepare to allow innovations and development which cannot but compromise some social, environmental and cultural interest of the people. Such is the case of the Communities where Osun State University is located. The Communities require Tertiary institutions more than ever before because they serve the people; they advise governments in policymaking decisions; they help develop skills, create knowledge and train leaders. They are at the centre of crucial research, through which a country can stimulate innovations as well as attract foreign investments and engage in scholarly and scientific commerce. When universities are given the opportunity to thrive, they can also help to promote an open, modern, civil, tolerant and democratic community -for it is only through higher education that deeper ethical and moral values can be inculcated.
In essence, the role of universities in community development is to create a sense of equity for all individuals within that community. In the long run, it will prove vital for every single member of the community to have the opportunity to seek education and gainful employment, just as it is important to ensure that the community has access to basic social needs like housing, healthcare and nutrition. In Nigeria, different studies have carried out on the role of Tertiary institutions in various context. For instance, [8], in their study which was based on transforming university knowledge production towards the promotion of inclusive development in Nigeria. From data sourced from the National Bureau of Statistics and other data sources were obtained employed the sample descriptive statistics to answer three research questions raised in their study, results obtained revealed low capacity in university knowledge production which yielded a low Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita and low knowledge Economy Index (KEI), but with high inclusive growth in Nigeria. The market-driven inclusive growth resulted in not having specific targets such as employment generation and income distribution. Therefore, it was recommended among others that government should create enhanced social and education environment to ensure sustained growth as well as fairness in income distribution towards the promotion of inclusive development.
Osim, Uchendu & William [9] focused their study on role of Universities in human capital development in Cross River State and its implication for national transformation adopting ex-post facto design. Two research questions and hypotheses respectively were raised to guide the study with a sample of 227 lecturers drawn from a population of 1,517 lecturers from the two universities in the state. While questionnaire was used to generate data, this data was analyzed using Pearson's Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. From the results, it was concluded that opportunities for attending retraining programmes and conferences/workshops had significant relationship with lecturers' transformation in terms of their teaching effectiveness and subsequent national transformation. Based on their findings they recommended that; Government should provide funds to the universities to sponsor lecturers to attend retraining programmes.
However, in a study [1] carried out on the socio environmental impact of the higher institution on host community which was assessed within the context of the regional and sustainable development. Using Geographical information system (GIS) maps complimented by structured questionnaire, the authors were able to obtain land use changes in Ijagun town, Ogun State, Nigeria and unknot the social implication between the indigenes and non-indigenes in relation to the impact of Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED) on the host community. Their findings revealed a positive correlation and cordial relationship between the university and Ijagun Community.
As much as must have been carried out by the scholars in Nigeria context, not much has been done in the area of Socioeconomic implication of Tertiary institutions on host Communities in promoting Integration and Cohesion hence, the main objective of this study is to examine Socioeconomic impact of Osun state university, Nigeria on host community while the specific objective is to evaluate how it has been able to promote Cohesion and Integration in the host Communities and its environment. In view of this, the remaining parts of the paper are divided into four sections; section two comprises of the literature review while sections three and four contains the materials and methods and the results and discussions respectively. However, section five concludes and makes recommendations for the study.

Literature Review
The predominant discourse, familiar since at least from the 1990s till date, emphasizes the Tertiary institutions place as a principal player in a global system increasingly driven by knowledge, information and ideas. We live in a time when knowledge is ever more vital to our societies and economies, in a world of rapidly circulating capital and people and of revolutionary communication technologies. Knowledge is replacing other resources as the main driver of economic growth, social Integration and Cohesion and education has increasingly become the foundation for individual prosperity and social mobility. Tertiary institutions engender broader Socio-economic growth as well as individual success.
From a global perspective, economic and social development is increasingly driven by the application of knowledge, Education in general, and Tertiary (higher) education precisely are fundamental to the construction of knowledge economy and society in all nations. Complimenting this, Hayward [10] reiterated that, active participation in knowledge societies is essential to economic growth and higher education institutions are the potential engines for that growth. Therefore, the attention given to higher education by a nation determines the extent to which the dividends will be reaped.
In an international research project synthesis report on the role of universities in the transformation of societies carried out on Central-Eastern Europe and Nigeria, Brennan, King and Lebeau [11], the role of universities in 'nation-building' was further stressed. It was reported that siting of universities usually will impact symbolic influence in providing opportunities for the celebration of national traditions to reinforce national values and loyalties. They observed that in some countries universities play the role in providing a repository for national views during long periods of foreign occupation or dominance which could help in creating democratic multi-ethnic societies but which are absent in Central and Eastern Europe and in Nigeria which has ardently excluded minority ethnic groups from higher education or to adapt higher education to meet the needs of such groups.
A community that desires long-term economic growth can help to secure a positive competitive stature if its current and future businesses have both a reliable supply of skilled labour and access to innovative, creative product development possibilities. In this respect, institutions of higher learning which are located in the community can be good assets for economic growth and be of great service to the business community. However, if there is little coordination or communication between the institutes and the economic actors in the community, the necessary partnership will not develop. In cognizance of the role of Tertiary institutions in a nation's building with multi ethnicity, cultural and religious diversity as characterized Nigeria, the educational system as at 1960 can only boost of one university compared to a total of 153 universities among other 570 Tertiary institutions as at 2016 being established either through the federal, state governments and private individuals or groups initiatives. This is in exclusion of affiliates and distance learnings. It is the largest and most complex higher education system on the African continent. According to the categorization of the Tertiary institutions by the federal ministry of education (FME) in 2016, there were 570 Tertiary institutions in Nigeria which includes but not limited to 153 universities [12], 111 Polytechnics and 60 Monotechnics [13], 149 Colleges of Education, 9 Polytechnics that offers National Certificate of Education (NCE) and 88 innovation enterprise [5].
Societies have witnessed different stages of human civilization centering around knowledge. Based on advancement in knowledge, societies have been changing, transitioning and transforming. In appreciating this and recognizing the critical role of Tertiary institutions in Socioeconomic sphere, Ali [14], while expressing his view on the special role of open university buttress the desire of nations for a progressive, stable and peaceful community as the one that is economically, socially materially and spiritually complete as well as able and consistent to contribute to the wellbeing of countries. According to Nasreen [15], much of these paradigms have been determined by human endeavor to harness nature through exploration, knowledge and research. Tertiary institutions typical of universities and higher education in general have been instrumental in catapulting the desires of mankind to greater heights. Critical thinking, accessibility to education and freedom of knowledge has been fundamental in this process of changing societies or to use the expression Society in Motion. Human nature is also metamorphosing with the passage of time, underscoring the connection between knowledge, societies and human beings at today has.
In a further attempt by Nasreen [15], in stressing the critical role of universities in the development and progress of the societies concluded that universities do not only produce human resource necessary for development activities, but also initiates and contributes to change in societies. He was of the opinion that such transformation dynamics are very much dependent on how change is managed by the societies through higher education. Based on this he tried to address three questions: firstly, the roles of universities in Socio-economic transformation; secondly the way they can promote social justice, economic prosperity and inclusive development growth and thirdly, their contributions in strengthening the bond between state and the society.

Methods
In pursuance of this research work, Osun State University, the 80 th university ever established in Nigeria and 30 th amongst the state-owned universities was chosen because of its peculiarity as a multi campus university which cut across six locations in the state. For the purpose of a wider coverage, clear understanding and in-depth analysis of the problem at hand, structured questionnaires were administered in the six locations namely; Osogbo, Okuku, Ipetu Ijesha, Ikire and Ejigbo. The questions were structure in a way to reflect the ethnic background of the respondents, their economic activities and type of relationship that exist between the identified groups that has converged in the locations since the siting of the university campuses. A sample size of 140 respondents was involved while both quantitative and qualitative techniques were carried out with the aid of SPSS version 20 and ANOVA at 5% level of significance to analyse the data.

Presentation of Results
Presented below is the outcome of the research study which is primarily aimed at the Socio-economic impact of Tertiary institutions on host Communities in promoting Cohesion and Integration in Nigeria.  Table 1 above shows the distribution of questionnaires to the various Communities in which Osun state university campuses were located, the number of questionnaires and how it was responded to in the Communities. The result shows a total of one hundred and eighty (180) was distributed in equally proportion to the six locations while 140 was returned by the respondents. This indicated that 78% responses were received from the survey conducted while 22% was not returned. The frequency distribution presented in Table 2 revealed that 26% of the total respondents fell below the age of 30 years, 24.3% of the respondents were within the range of 30 to 40, while 29.3% and 20% fell between the range of 40 to 50 and above 50 years respectively. This distribution was preferred because most migrations are more prominent in this age brackets hence its importance to my study objective. However, from Table 3 observations, an overwhelming response of 47.9% when ethnicity is grouped under the major three tribes in Nigeria constituted the Yorubas. This can be attributed to the fact that the location of the campuses is in a predominantly highly populated Yoruba part of the country. Nevertheless, 34.3% of the respondents are Igbos while the remaining 17.9% were Hausas. To make room for fair gender inclusion, the results presented in Table 4 obviously showed that among the responses received 40.7% were females while 59.3% of the respondents were male who may have been living in the Communities where the campuses were located before and after their establishment in 2007. Meanwhile, the results on Table 5 below indicated that 57% of the total respondents strongly agreed that that the location of the campuses have brought about an astronomical improvement on the economic activities/gains to the people in the environment as traders, artisan, farmers, commercial motorcycle riders among others are now on the increase in the Communities while this was further supported by 25% of the respondent by agreeing to the idea, 13.6%, 5% and another 2.9% representing other respondents who were undecided, disagreed or strongly disagreed respectively. Based on this, it clearly shows that the situation of this campuses in the respective Communities had really contributed into the upsurge in the economic activities of the community as well as the wellbeing of the people. On the social enhancement, the responses were reassuring too. A cursory look at Table 6 shows that a pool of 79.2% of the respondents are in total agreement that their social status have improved considerately because of the changing social strata unification irrespective of background and belief while only 12.1% of the respondents have negative inclinations. However, the remaining 5.7% decided to stay aloof neither supporting nor opposing. In addition, efforts to know if the siting of the campuses have really aided any form of Integration and social Cohesion among the people. The frequency distribution of responses on Table 7, revealed that a total of 77.8% of the respondents strongly agreed and agreed to the proposition with a total of 16% contradicting the observation while 10% are undecided. Further on peaceful co-existence, it is shown on Table 8 that a total pool of 77.9% of the respondent were of the opinion that they have been living peacefully without any threat to life and properties within the Communities and the university and that the siting of the campuses has further brought about more influx of other ethnic groups into the Communities after their establishment. Nevertheless, a total combination of 11.4% of the respondents is of contrary opinion while 10% remain undecided.

Correlation Result
To further the determine the Socio-economic impact of Tertiary institutions on host Communities in promoting Cohesion and Integration in Nigeria, the data gathered were subjected to further analysis. As can be gathered from Table  9 after adjusting for the average of social and economic impact, the correlation result was fascinating as it supported earlier indications of peaceful co-existence and unhindered Integration of other ethnic groups into the Communities where the university campuses of Osun State University were located. A strong positive correlation coefficient of 0.943 at 0.01 level of significance indicating that the Socio-economic effect of these campuses has impacted positively on the host Communities and this supports while most Communities will fight to have one and even go to the extent of contributing in cash and kind to sustain such initiative.  A further cursory look at the correlation output on Table  10 between Socio-economic impact of how other ethnic groups whose influx has increased considerable since the commencement of the university and the situation of the campus and how well and peacefully the have been integrated into the Communities suggested a positive relationship with a correlation coefficient of 0.943 at 0.01 level of significance.

Analysis of Variance
From the correlation analysis earlier discussed, there is a strong indication that the differences in cultural and ethnic background had not for once hindered unification of these various group in the areas of study. These findings were further corroborated from the analysis made from the Oneway ANOVA carried out at 5% levels of significance, the outcome on Table 11 and 12 shows that the Socio-economic impact of Tertiary institution on host Communities to promoting Integration and Cohesion in Nigeria is statistically significance. This fit was achievable because of the mission and vision of the institution and the progressive nature of the host Communities.

Conclusion and Recommendations
This study which is the first of its kind on the socioeconomic impact of Tertiary institutions on host community in promoting Integration and Cohesion in Osun state and in Nigeria at large has been a great success even in the face of the challenges associated with the maintenance, coordination and management of a multi-campus institution coupled the current state of the nation's economy. From the study it can be concluded that this bold initiative of Osun state government and the proper management of the institution by the various administrations since 2007 has brought about significant improvement in the Communities in part of the university, the community and the government particularly in areas of health facilities, infrastructural development, increase in economic and other commercial activities, increase in population and ability of the environment to maintain proper Integration of other ethnic groups influx into system without no record of harassment, intimidation and fear of loss of lives and properties in the face of the current Boko Haram insurgency and Hausa/Fulani nomads senseless provocations in some parts of the country.
To this end the, it's my candid opinion that for the society to gain more and further maintain and improve on these laudable achievements earlier emphasized by this study, the Osun state government, the University through her multicampus initiative and the Communities in which they were situated, both the government, organisations and private individuals should try and come to the aid of the university management to financially contribute to the success of these multi-campus initiative which in the face of the current economic hardship and recession is difficult to be maintain only by a renteir state considering the meager internally generated income by the university and the level of incessant defaulting and diversion of school fees by the students.