Managing French Language Resource Centres in Nigerian Universities: Operational Challenges and Solutions

French language resource centres and language laboratories in Nigerian universities are intended to provide the audio-visual and digital infrastructure necessary for communicative French language instruction, yet their management, maintenance, and utilisation have received little systematic attention in educational management research. This study examines the operational challenges and management practices of French language resource centres at six Nigerian universities: Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, University of Port Harcourt, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, University of Benin, and Lagos State University. A qualitative case study design was employed, combining facility condition audits, structured interviews with twelve resource centre managers and French department heads, and usage log analysis. An operational assessment framework evaluated each centre against eight management quality indicators. Results reveal a pattern of progressive infrastructure deterioration across all six sites, attributable to inadequate recurrent funding, absence of dedicated technical maintenance staff, and failure to budget for technology replacement cycles. Three centres had equipment last updated over ten years prior to the study. Usage rates were uniformly low, with formal timetabled use occupying fewer than six hours per week at most sites. Staff capacity for digital resource management was limited in four of six centres. The study develops a practical resource centre management framework for Nigerian university French departments, specifying minimum funding benchmarks, maintenance scheduling requirements, and utilisation monitoring systems. Keywords: language resource centre, French language laboratory, university management, resource management, Nigeria