Abstract In 2002 the United Nations (UN) convened an Inter Agency Task Force on sport for development and peace with the aim of reviewing activities concerning sport in the UN system and designing strategies to promote more systematic and coherent use of sport in facilitating development and peace activi ties, especially at the community level. The UN also empha sised the potential role of sport in achieving the Mil lennium Development Goals (MDGs). Recommendations at several international events, e.g. MINEPS III (Berlin, Germany in 1999) and the International Conference on Sport and Development (Magglingen, Switzerland in 2003), with a follow up conference in Magglingen, Switze rland, 2005; have consistent ly implicated physical education a s the right vehicle through which sport can be effectively uti lized as a tool to promote development and peace, particularly at the community level such as in plus sport act ivities. However, recent trends suggest that a gap exists between the expectations of the UN in terms of sustainable human development and how graduates of physical education and sports studies in universities are prepared to meet these new challenges. This hypothesis was tested in 11 Nigerian universities specifically to analyse the lecturers’ views concerning the need and feasibility to teach contemporary physical education courses within the context of human development. The findings were analysed qualitat ively and conclusions drawn based on its implications for achieving the MDGs in African countries.