By Prof. MK Othman
Is the FGN-ASUU imbroglio back to square one? Yes, it is, facing more looming and devastating crises than in 2017, 2020, and 2022. The last time a salary package was granted to university workers was in 2009, following negotiations between unions and the Federal Government of Nigeria. Since then, no tangible rewards have been given despite inflation and economic decline that have devalued the Naira from about N150 to one US dollar in 2009 to the current rate of about N1,500 to one US dollar.
The removal of the fuel subsidy caused fuel prices to jump from less than N200 per liter to about N950 per liter, worsening the financial situation of workers, including university lecturers. In Nigeria, a professor at the bar earns the highest monthly salary of $350, which is much lower compared to the average pay of at least $2,000 per month for a Graduate Assistant, the lowest university salary earner in many countries worldwide, including smaller countries such as Niger, Ghana, Kenya, Seychelles, Zambia, and Uganda. In developed countries like the USA, Europe, and Asia, a professor earns up to $10,000 per month (approximately 16 million Naira), which is 32 times higher than the average salary of a professor in Nigeria. Additionally, Nigerian universities pressure academics to publish in top-tier journals, with exorbitant fees running into millions of Naira, to be on par with their foreign counterparts.
While FGN, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, pays professors participating in Technical Aid Corps (TAC) $2,000 (₦3 million) per month to teach at universities in countries like Uganda, Kenya, and others under the TAC program, professors in Nigerian universities are only offered a meager $350 per month. What an irony. Conversely, political officeholders in Nigeria earn lucrative and mouth-watering monthly salaries and allowances that are three to four times higher than those of a professor. What are the issues at stake?
Today, Nigerian universities face severe funding shortages that fall short even for basic municipal services like water supply, electricity payments, and regular maintenance of aging teaching and research facilities. To make matters worse, the poor state of services and inadequate facilities has led to a significant brain drain of human capital, and the strict IPPIS system has prevented universities from replacing the staff they lose, leaving them depleted and struggling to survive. For example, one of the first-generation universities lost over 2,000 staff members in the last three years. Therefore, the key issues include securing revitalization funds for deteriorating universities, paying withheld salaries and earned allowances to lecturers who have dedicated their lives to public service, and genuinely implementing agreements that were freely entered into and signed many years ago.
Over the past twelve years, ASUU has submitted numerous formal and informal petitions to the FGN. These efforts culminated in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on November 6, 2013. Since then, three additional Memoranda of Action have been signed by the FGN on September 18, 2017, February 7, 2019, and December 2020. Between 2021 and 2022, the FGN established two negotiation committees consecutively. The first, led by Prof. Munzali Jibrin, negotiated extensively with ASUU for several uninterrupted months.
It produced a comprehensive report with all-inclusive recommendations aimed at permanently and sustainably resolving challenges in the university system. Instead of adopting the report for implementation, the FGN formed a new negotiation committee under the late Prof. Brigg, Emeritus Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, disregarding Munzali’s report. Likewise, Brigg’s committee did an excellent job and submitted an outstanding report to resolve the university crisis sustainably. However, the hawks in FGN were not interested in ending the imbroglio and made the government discard the report, and dragged ASUU to court, which led the union to suspend its strike in 2022.
After the 2023 election, ASUU gave the new administration of President Tinubu time to stabilize and used this period for consultation and engagement with its members through conducting a referendum in all branches, which unanimously agreed to declare a strike action in 2024.
The threat of a strike prompted the FGN to establish Yayale Ahmed’s Renegotiation Committee, which finalized and submitted its report in December 2024. For ten months, the FGN did not take serious action to accept or reject the committee’s recommendations until ASUU embarked on a 14-day warning strike.
Therefore, the ongoing two-week warning strike by ASUU should not be seen as a disruption but as a final plea to conscience, a reminder that silence in the face of endless foot-dragging is a form of surrender that lets the rot deepen the decay. Not out of hostility but in hope that Nigeria’s authorities will realize that a country neglecting its universities contributes to its own decline and undermines its future, the union has once again drawn the line. The nation cannot afford another repeat of the 2020 and 2022 strikes, which lasted over ten months. The key stakeholders—prominent figures, members of the National Assembly, and all men and women of good conscience—must step in to resolve the ASUU-FGN standoff in the national interest and safeguard the country’s future.
The House of Representatives has acted swiftly to address the growing crisis, highlighting how ASUU warning strikes have evolved into prolonged shutdowns that disrupt academic schedules, research, and cause frustration among students, parents, and teachers. Speaker Abbas Tajudeen leads the Committee on University Education and Labour, Employment, and Productivity to quickly intervene between the federal government and ASUU and find a lasting solution. Similarly, the Senate Joint Committees on Labour, Tertiary Institutions, and TETFUND held private talks with ASUU’s national leadership in the National Assembly. Afterwards, they scheduled a follow-up meeting with government officials to break the deadlock. The Committee Chairman of TETFUND, Senator Dandutse, told newsmen after the meeting, “Our goal is to ensure that students return to the classrooms as quickly as possible and that the issues responsible for this recurring crisis are permanently resolved.”
While praising the efforts of the National Assembly members who demonstrated a good understanding of the crisis and criticizing the government’s lackadaisical attitude in accepting a lasting solution, the members should persist with their intervention until their goal is achieved.
Besides legislators, other key stakeholders—such as traditional rulers, former heads of state (General Gawon, General Abdulsalam, etc.), prominent politicians, religious leaders, and others—can appeal to the federal government to fulfill the agreements they voluntarily signed and sealed with the unions.
The FGN often cites limited funds as a reason for not fulfilling the 2009 ASUU agreement and for underfunding education. However, it recently allocated N5 billion for renovating the Vice-President’s lodge, $150 million for a presidential jet, N57.6 billion on SUVs for lawmakers, and paid senators N500 million annually for vague constituency projects. It is time for the Tinubu administration to reevaluate its priorities and prioritize education. Only through strong commitment and investment in university education can the optimism of the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, be realized, who stated, “Not again ever in this country will ASUU or tertiary institutions, trade unions, teachers, lecturers go on strike” but not as a threat of “no work, no pay”. The threat can only worsen the crisis rather than resolve it.
