A new statewide strike may soon be inevitable, according to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which expressed concern about what it called the 15-year stagnation of Nigerian university professors on the same salary structure.
The Benin Zone of the union stated at a news conference on Tuesday, November 18, in Benin City, Edo State, that the Federal Government had not used the one-month window allotted to it to complete the renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement.
Prof. Monday Igbafen, the zonal coordinator, told the media alongside representatives from the zone’s universities that the government’s response to the issue has demonstrated a “blatant unwillingness” to handle the crisis endangering the public university system.
“It is not only regrettable but sad to inform you that the Federal Government has again demonstrated a blatant unwillingness to quickly and holistically resolve all the outstanding issues to restore the desired industrial harmony in our public universities,” Igbafen said, lamenting the dire state of academic compensation.
He continued by saying that while some non-financial aspects of the deal have been resolved, the welfare and salary components “remain a sore point” that calls for immediate and drastic action.
“The government’s planned pay increase has been rejected since it is insignificant. The most evident consequence of the government’s unwillingness to finalize this agreement is that Nigerian university instructors are still paid according to the same system from 2009, when the naira was worth ₦120 to the dollar, according to Igbafen.
He claims that things have gotten so bad that “a professor at the bar earns less than $400 per month, which is a scandalous under-valuation of Nigerian scholars.”
“Wicked, inhuman, and a catalyst for resistance, industrial disharmony, and brain drain” is how he characterized the 15-year salary freeze.
Key government officials, including the Minister of Education, were criticized by Igbafen for their positions and remarks, claiming that they were “antithetical to a genuine and speedy resolution” of the conflict.
Given the nation’s rising revenue profile, he contended, the Federal Government has no justification for not fulfilling its obligations.
ASUU: Nigeria’s Income Has Risen by More Than 70%
“States received a total of ₦3.92 trillion in 2022, while the figure for 2024 was ₦5.81 trillion, an increase of over 62 percent,” the ASUU zonal coordinator said, citing official figures.
In a same vein, the Federal Government’s revenue increased by almost 70% from ₦3.42 trillion in 2022 to ₦4.65 trillion in 2024.
He maintained that what he referred to as a “lack of political will” rather than a shortage of resources was the cause of the ongoing issue.
Igbafen stated that the Benin Zone was ready to comply with any order from the National Executive Council of the union concerning the restart of the halted strike.
“Benin Zone of ASUU is prepared for the NEC of our union’s directive to resume the suspended strike action at the expiration of the given one-month window,” he said in closing.
