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…Says Nigerian professors earn less than $250
By Gabriel Dike
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Friday expressed concern about the alarming rate of its members ‘dropping dead’ due to poor working conditions.
The union also revealed that Nigerian university lecturers have been earning the same salary since 2009 with professors getting less than $250 per month.
ASUU Lagos Zone Coordinator, Prof. Adelaja Odukoya, who briefed newsmen on the state of affairs of the union, said at the last National Executive Council (NEC) meeting a branch reported that they lost about 10 members to death.
Odukoya, who was flanked by branch chairmen of the zone said President Bola Tinubu promised to address the situation in public universities and members have waited endlessly without any sign of improvement.
He added: “Statistics are there, our members are dropping death. Some are ill and can’t afford the high cost of drugs. As I speak with the media this morning, we just buried ASUU UNILAG former vice chairman today.
“We have bad situations on many campuses. Death is gradually becoming a daily affair. Some members either while teaching drop death, some sleep and don’t wake up and some slump.
“At our recent NEC meeting, a branch reported 10 deaths and at the end, the figure stood at 25 from other universities. The Federal Government through deliberate actions wants to ensure our members remain impoverished. Some members now depend on other family members to survive.”
Odukoya recalled: “In spite of its promises ahead of assuming office, the Bola Tinubu administration has failed to live up to expectations in respect of the issues that have been at the forefront of our union’s recent strike actions, the last being from February to October 2022.
“Between then and now, there has been no tangible intervention to inspire hope. As a matter of fact, despair is on the rise, as many Nigerian academics languish under terrible working conditions, while many have either passed away or are currently undergoing life-threatening illnesses that are primarily induced by poverty and enslaving work conditions.”
On the renegotiation of FGN/ASUU 2009 agreement, the coordinator said it has been 15 years, without renegotiation for an agreement that was supposed to be reviewed every four years. He recalled that Nigerian university lecturers have been on the same salary since 2009 when the naira was about N120 to a dollar. Nigeria’s highest-paid professors earn an average of $213 a month at the current rate.
“ASUU has reached out and waited on the current government to address this issue, with no encouraging response unfortunately. The union again urges the President Tinubu-led administration to revisit the Nimi Briggs-led renegotiated draft agreement for signing and implementation based on the current realities given today’s exchange rate that has made nonsense of the agreed salaries for academics,” Odukoya noted.
