Principles and techniques of entrepreneurial government are widely adopted in public sector in developed
and developing countries. Higher education is no exception as traditional management methods are
generally adjudged incapable of sustaining efficiency, economy and effectiveness. Adopting this new
paradigm otherwise known as entrepreneurial government or New Public Management (NPM) has
witnessed its attendant privatization, merger, down-sizing and subsequent right-sizing of higher education.
In some countries, courses are offered on demand while academic researches are commercialized. The
practice of NPM in higher education across the world shows areas of success and failure. Since 1999, there
have been introduction of NPM influenced reforms in Nigerian public sector. This paper argues that there
is no possibility of sudden transformation of higher education, but selective application of these reforms by
capable change managers and acceptance by informed university stakeholders could place Nigeria
strategically among comity of nations in the ever-expanding knowledge and information society.
