The immediate past Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration) of the University of Ibadan, Professor Ezekiel Olusola Ayoola, has made a passionate appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, urging him to take immediate action to salvage what he described as the dangerously declining morale among academic staff in federal universities across Nigeria.
In an open letter made available to The Guardian in Ibadan on Wednesday, titled “On the Low Morale Among Academic Staff in Nigerian Federal Universities,” the professor of mathematics decried the worsening conditions under which university lecturers operate. He cited decades of neglect, poor remuneration, brain drain, and the inability to access quality healthcare as major issues plaguing the nation’s intellectual workforce.
Ayoola, who joined the University of Ibadan in 1989, said the morale of academic staff has reached an all-time low. “The morale among this category of staff has never been this low since I was hired as an academic staff member at the University of Ibadan thirty-six years ago,” he lamented.
He called on President Tinubu to approve a comprehensive wage increase for university lecturers, arguing that this is critical for retaining top-tier academics, curbing the brain drain, and restoring dignity to the teaching profession. He also recommended tailored packages to support academic staff facing health challenges due to the sedentary demands of research and teaching.
“The situation is dire. Many of our colleagues have died due to poor wages and unaffordable healthcare. Sedentary academic lifestyles have contributed to terminal ailments that many cannot afford to treat,” he noted. He cited multiple cases, including a professor crowdfunding for ₦13 million for surgery and another selling soup ingredients at a roadside stall just to survive.
Ayoola emphasized that academic staff play a central role in human capital development across sectors, yet their salaries and welfare packages do not reflect the value they bring. “Academic staff should not retire into poverty that shortens their lifespan. Many die waiting for their pensions and gratuities,” he added.
He specifically referenced a physics professor from UI who died less than a year after retirement, waiting for entitlements. He also criticized a national culture that trivializes intellectual work and glorifies quick wealth, warning that this attitude discourages young Nigerians from pursuing academic careers.
The professor urged the president to ensure the prompt implementation of the Yayale Ahmed Committee report on academic staff welfare, reportedly submitted to the Ministry of Education in December 2024. “Just as former President Obasanjo approved an upward review of lecturers’ salaries in 2000, President Tinubu must do the same now to secure his legacy in the education sector,” Ayoola said.
He listed other demands, including the immediate payment of outstanding three and a half months’ salaries, full implementation of terminal salaries for professors as stipulated in the Pension Reform Act of 2012, and insulation of academics from politics to maintain the integrity of university education.
Ayoola noted that the deteriorating conditions have made it almost impossible for senior academics to convince younger ones to stay and contribute to Nigeria’s development. “Respectable incomes are the key determinant for retention in the academic sector,” he emphasized.
He stressed that improved funding and emoluments are prerequisites for quality research output, which in turn affects university rankings globally. “Competitive journals and international databases will only recognize and publish work of global standard, which cannot come from a system where scholars are demotivated and underfunded,” he explained.
According to him, Nigeria’s knowledge industry is on the brink of collapse unless the federal government urgently retools its priorities to reward excellence, incentivize research, and improve working conditions in tertiary institutions.
Ayoola ended the letter with a strong call for moral and financial reinvestment in academia. “It is not too late for President Tinubu to take decisive action. Posterity will remember him positively if he rescues the soul of our universities,” he concluded.
His message adds to growing voices from university staff unions and stakeholders who are calling for a paradigm shift in Nigeria’s handling of higher education, amid fears of further collapse of academic standards and national development prospects.
