Rural student mobility and the spatial politics of university access in Nigeria

Abstract Despite the post-independence reforms aimed at addressing educational inequalities in university access in Nigeria, figures for rural students have not improved. While policy frameworks such as the quota system and centralised examinations are routinely celebrated as instruments of fairness, they have not translated into substantive equity for rural students. This research provides a novel understanding and explanation of how rural Nigerian students choose and access university education. It drew on 45 in-depth interviews across three federal universities in Nigeria. The study found two interrelated mobility logics that influenced rural students’ choice of university: staying close to home (primary sorting), shared identity and the boundaries of belonging (secondary sorting). It also found institutional barriers influencing access: Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and post-JAMB examination. Guided by a postcolonial lens, the analysis draws on Mamdani’s theory of decentralised despotism to show how colonial governance structures continue to shape Nigeria’s internal geographies of access. This is complemented by Bourdieu’s concept of habitus, used to understand how spatial and symbolic inequalities are embodied in students’ educational choices. The study argues that access should be understood not as a single point of entry but as a contested and layered journey. It calls for policies that move beyond increasing enrolment to address the invisible borders, spatial hierarchies, and infrastructural gaps that shape who moves, where they go, and under what conditions.