The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is once again in the eye of the storm, but this time, their agitation is not simply about salary increments or withheld allowances. From investigations conducted by The Nigeria Education News, what is emerging is a broader crisis, one that directly threatens the survival of Nigeria’s public universities and the dignity of the academic profession itself.
Contrary to popular perception, ASUU’s latest call for government action is not merely a continuation of old battles but an outcry against a collapsing system. Lecturers argue that the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement has now become a historical relic that government after government pays lip service to. While the agreement promised periodic renegotiation every three years, nearly two decades later, nothing substantial has been done to make the profession competitive with global standards.
Perhaps the most biting reality is the erosion of academic purchasing power. Lecturers told our correspondents that their salaries have been stagnant for 16 years, during which time the cost of living has quadrupled. In the words of one professor at Ekiti State University, “Our salary structure has trapped us in a permanent state of poverty, while our counterparts abroad are living decent, respectable lives.” The failure to implement the Nimi Briggs Committee’s draft agreement in 2021 only deepened the sense of betrayal.
Another dimension of the agitation stems from the three and a half months’ withheld salaries during the 2022 strike. Although lecturers returned to class and covered lost curriculum grounds, the Federal Government has remained adamant. This, ASUU insists, is a calculated attempt to weaken the union and dissuade collective bargaining. In interviews across federal universities in Osun, Oyo, and Kwara States, lecturers confirmed they are surviving mostly through cooperative loans, a practice that has left many drowning in debt.
Equally troubling is the dissolution and reconstitution of governing councils across universities. ASUU maintains that the Tinubu administration’s decision to hurriedly replace legally constituted councils with politically appointed loyalists is undermining university autonomy. One union leader at Obafemi Awolowo University described the move as “a return to feudal politics in our citadels of learning.” This, they warn, will compromise meritocracy and foster further decay.
The controversy over Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) is also yet unresolved. Although N50 billion was recently released by the Federal Government, the disbursement was spread across all categories of university staff, leaving academic staff shortchanged by about N10 billion. In universities like LAUTECH, UNILAG, and FUTA, lecturers say that their allowances have either not been paid for years or have been arbitrarily cut in half. To many, this is evidence of deliberate government insensitivity.
Our findings further reveal that the proliferation of universities without commensurate funding has added salt to injury. The National Assembly, in what ASUU describes as “political constituency projects,” continues to approve new universities even as older ones remain underfunded. State governors are also guilty, creating new campuses for electoral bragging rights while abandoning existing institutions. This explains why laboratory equipment is outdated, libraries lack current journals, and infrastructure crumbles in many campuses.
ASUU’s rejection of the Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Fund adds another angle. Government has proposed this as a loan scheme to cushion lecturers’ financial hardship, but ASUU insists it is nothing more than a “poisoned chalice.” They argue that their members are already buried in cooperative loans and need better conditions of service, not new debts. “What we need is dignity, not another chain,” one lecturer in the University of Ibadan said.
Victimization of union members has also become a recurring flashpoint. In LASU, Kogi State University, and FUTO, leaders of ASUU branches have allegedly been harassed, suspended, or dismissed for challenging management decisions. The Ibadan Zone of ASUU describes this as “systematic persecution aimed at silencing activism.” Many lecturers told our team that the absence of robust union protection will eventually make Nigerian campuses unsafe for dissent and academic freedom.
Observers say one of the most painful aspects of the crisis is the loss of trust between government and academia. ASUU leaders claim they gave the Tinubu administration a grace period, believing that the era of policy inertia under Buhari was over. But with no visible seriousness from the current government, the mood across campuses is one of disappointment. “We thought we had seen the worst, but nothing has changed,” lamented a senior lecturer in UNILAG.
Beyond personal hardship, the implications of government inaction are far-reaching. The steady exodus of lecturers to Europe, North America, and the Middle East has intensified brain drain. According to union leaders, Nigeria risks losing an entire generation of academics, leaving behind hollowed-out universities incapable of producing globally competitive graduates. “The future of our youths is at stake,” ASUU warns.
Interestingly, students across several universities interviewed by The Nigeria Education News share mixed feelings. While some sympathize with their lecturers’ plight, others are frustrated by the possibility of another strike. A student at LAUTECH remarked, “We understand their struggles, but each strike delays our future.” This ambivalence reflects the complexity of the ASUU struggle: a fight for justice that also punishes the very students it seeks to protect.
ASUU insists that its struggles are not self-serving but geared toward saving public universities from total collapse. The union argues that unless the government addresses withheld salaries, mainstreams EAA, signs the renegotiated agreement, and stops politicizing governing councils, agitation will persist. The option of strike, though unpopular, remains their last resort.
As things stand, ASUU’s agitation is no longer just about wage increases, it is about the survival of Nigeria’s intellectual heritage. Until the government takes genuine steps to restore dignity and credibility to the teaching profession, the gulf between Nigeria and global educational standards will only widen, leaving public universities trapped in an endless cycle of crisis.
