Nigerian University of Calabar Welcomes BYU‑Pathway Delegation

On 30 June, 2025, the Management of the University of Calabar in Nigeria welcomed a delegation from Brigham Young University–Pathway Worldwide (BYU–Pathway), an educational initiative of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‑day Saints. The purpose of the visit was to explore an initiative seeking to establish a local institute of the BYU-Pathway programme on the campus of the University of Calabar.  Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Florence Obi, and other Principal Officers of the University of Calabar (UNICAL) warmly welcomed the delegation comprising international and national officials of the Institute.  

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The delegation was led by Elder Victor Offiong Bassey, Area Seventy, who is also a senior lecturer in the University of Calabar.  He introduced members of the delegation, inclulding President Brian Ashton, president of BYU-Pathway. After acknowledging the warm welcome they received, President Ashton thanked the Vice Chancellor and her Management team for providing the enabling environment for UNICAL to thrive. He then outlined plans to bring BYU‑Pathway’s affordable online certificate and degree programmes, rooted in faith-based education, to the University and to Calabar.

While emphasizing the transformative potentials of the partnership, President Ashton expressed the hope that an Institute programme at the University of Calabar would significantly expand educational access across Cross River State and across Nigeria. He enumerated the potential benefits of the envisaged partnership to include; increased access to education through access to BYU–Pathway's online courses and degree programmes; Faith-Based Learning which involves the Integration of spiritual values and principles into academic programmes; and Global Networking which he said provides opportunities for students to connect with peers and professionals worldwide.

Professor Obi acknowledged the University's openness to mutually benefitting academic partnerships.  She praised the delegation’s vision and expressed confidence in the capacity and potentials of deepening academic collaborations between UNICAL and BYU‑Pathway. She affirmed that the University is very interested in any collaboration that is geared towards academic excellence, especially in the areas of research and student development. After reaffirming UNICAL's commitment to strengthening international partnerships aimed at enhancing students' learning and faculty development, she said “We'll need to sit down and work out a possible partnership, provided the planned centre and its programmes have the approval of the National Universities Commission (NUC), and the University of Calabar Governing Council.”

In the end, President Ashton was tasked to develop a formal proposal incorporating and overseeing the workability of the foundation of a BYU‑Pathway Centre at the University of Calabar.

Of note, in conjunction with the delegation’s visit, President David and Sister Christine Oryang, Mission Leaders of the Nigeria Calabar Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Saints, were on the UNICAL campus to find, teach, and invite students to come unto Christ.