President Bola Tinubu recently approved the partial waiver of the “no work, no pay” order instituted against members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in federal universities following their protracted industrial action of last year. The eight months’ strike action literally crippled academic activities in the federal universities.
According to the president, the decision to pay ASUU members’ salaries for four months was taken to mitigate the effects of the fuel subsidy removal as well as implementing the agreements reached with the university teachers. This means that out of the eight months owed the lecturers, they will be paid for only four months.
Although the industrial action and the subsequent ‘no work, no pay’ rule occurred during the last administration of Muhammadu Buhari, it is commendable that President Bola Tinubu has revisited the matter and granted the lecturers partial pay waiver.
The president’s action has elicited diverse reactions from Nigerians. While some people believe that the president did well to grant them partial pay waiver, others believe that the president should have granted them full waiver to the lecturers and pay them their salaries for the eight months of the strike. Let the government consider the plight of university lecturers, especially over the poor working conditions.
The government should remember that the leadership of ASUU called off the strike last year and returned to work following pleas from well-meaning Nigerians. That gesture should be reciprocated by paying them their wages for the eight months of the strike. We believe that the partial pay waiver granted them will not solve the problem. It may even exacerbate it. At the same time, the government’s gesture is not likely to guarantee industrial peace in the varsities.
When compared to their counterparts in other parts of the world, even countries less economically endowed than Nigeria, Nigerian varsity lecturers earn very little in terms of take-home pay and conditions of service. With the exception of some first generation universities, the conditions of service of Nigerian university lecturers are substandard.
It is sad that they work under unfavourable conditions. That is why members of ASUU have always resorted to strike action to press home their demands for better working conditions. However, all the strike actions seem not to have yielded the desired results because promises made to the lecturers by successive governments were never fulfilled.
Since the new administration came to power, Nigerians have been grappling with excruciating economic hardships. The pump price of petrol has increased. The value of the naira has depreciated so much before the US dollar and other currencies. The prices of goods and services have risen astronomically. No doubt, university lecturers are also among the worst hit by the current economic realities.
Based on the foregoing, the president should grant full pay waiver to ASUU members over the ‘no work, no pay’ rule to enable them overcome the prevailing economic challenges. The academic sector and welfare of lecturers should be given priority attention by the federal government.
Given the poor working conditions of university lecturers, the country is experiencing massive brain drain as many lecturers are leaving Nigeria in droves. If these lecturers flee Nigeria in search of greener pastures abroad, how then will our universities benefit from their expertise?
While the president may have done his best by the partial pay waiver, it is imperative that the Nigerian education sector receives a massive turn around under the present administration. It is also commendable that the federal government has announced plans to increase the salary of lecturers and pay the arrears from January 2023 to date. While junior lecturers will receive 25 per cent increment, senior lecturers and professors will receive 35 per cent increment.
This is a welcome development and a sign that the present administration takes university lecturers seriously. But beyond these, the conditions of all federal universities in the country should be examined and improved. Also, budgetary allocation to education sector should be improved upon from what the sector got in the previous years.
Over the years, the budgetary allocation to education has been below the global benchmark for developing nations. In 2023, the budgetary allocation for education is 8.2 per cent, one of the lowest in the whole world. While president Bola Tinubu’s first interface with Nigerian university lecturers is a positive one, his administration should give education the attention it duly deserves. Nigerian lecturers should also be accorded better treatment. Let the government enhance their welfare.