Nigeria, Feb. 24 -- A wave of dress code mandates is sweeping through Nigerian higher education. From public to private, secular to faith-based institutions, there is a growing obsession with mandating students on what to wear and how not to appear. Recently, a university, not a monastery, announced a policy prohibiting students from growing or maintaining unapproved hairstyles. Male students are explicitly forbidden from wearing dreadlocks or beards, the Prohibition List is long. Yet, another commands male students to tuck in their shirts and put on a tie, while their female counterparts must avoid excessive jewellery or flamboyant hairstyles. In one or two higher institutions, mobile phones are banned outright, or restricted. These mand...