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There are strong indications that the perennial face-off between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government will soon be over. Over the years, ASUU and the FG have always been embroiled in loggerheads over the remuneration and working conditions of university lecturers in the country. The disagreements have led to the closure of universities for many months, crippling academic activities and delaying the educational pursuit of millions of youths across the country.
Therefore, it is a breath of fresh air that ASUU and the government have finally signed the 2009 renegotiation agreement after many years of strikes, which threatened to destroy Nigeria’s university system. The renegotiated agreement was signed by the Chairman of the Federal Government Renegotiation Team, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed and the President of ASUU, Prof. Chris Piwuna, in Abuja. The last time ASUU and the FG signed an agreement was in 2009 but unfortunately, successive governments failed to implement it. The failure to implement the agreement has had a detrimental impact on university education in Nigeria, leading to the poor ranking of Nigeria’s universities in global university rankings.
The recent agreement is aimed at rejuvenating Nigeria’s university system with emphasis on conditions of service, funding, university autonomy, academic freedom as well as other systemic reforms aimed at reversing decay, curbing brain drain and repositioning universities for national development. The key highlights of the agreement are a 40 per cent upward review of academic staff emoluments and pension provisions under existing laws. Furthermore, the agreement grants professors a pension equivalent to their annual salary upon retirement at age 70 with defined service requirements and recognition of approved service periods.
The agreement also proposes a new budgeting template that recognises university peculiarities, with dedicated percentages for libraries, research, equipment, staff development and laboratories. Also, the agreement contains the proposed National Research Council (NRC) to fund research at not less than one per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), strengthen innovation and support research in all government-owned universities. No doubt, all these point to a new beginning for Nigerian universities, which will reposition them for greater global impact and the improvement of academic standard in the country. The agreement will take effect from January 1, 2026 and will be reviewed every three years.
It is commendable that the Federal Government has at last signed the agreement with ASUU. With the signing of the agreement, it is hoped that Nigeria’s public university sector will make the desired progress and the days of incessant strike by academic staff of universities are over. While the signing of the agreement is commendable, the Federal Government should also abide by the provisions of the agreement in order not to plunge universities into a wave of industrial actions. Universities all over the world provide the training ground for manpower, which sustains the economy. If universities are always closed and the graduating years for students are delayed, it would inevitably affect the workforce of any country. Also, when the academic progress of students is intermittently interrupted, it affects the quality of education they get, which ultimately affects their professional designation upon graduation.
Now that the FG has signed the much-desired agreement with ASUU, it is also hoped that university lecturers would reciprocate the good gesture with commensurate service and dedication to duty, in terms of research, innovation, teaching and manpower development. No doubt, the signing of the agreement signals a major milestone in Nigeria’s educational system.
Since ASUU is not the only university union with industrial and welfare issues, the Federal Government should endeavour to resolve all outstanding issues with other unions like SSANU, NASU and NAAT. Let the government ensure that negotiations with these bodies are taken seriously. If any of these unions should embark on industrial action, it would affect the nation’s varsity education system. Therefore, the FG should do the needful so that the agreement signed with ASUU will not be in vain. All efforts should be geared towards the revival of varsity education in line with global standards. The unions should also be reasonable in their demands to enable the government meet them. The grievances of teachers and other workers in the polytechnics and colleges of education should be addressed. The government must also pay attention to the welfare of staff of these institutions. Advanced countries of the world take the education sector seriously. If Nigerian universities and other tertiary institutions are revived, it would minimise the mass exodus of Nigerians to other countries in search of quality education. We believe that the new agreement between government and ASUU will guarantee industrial peace in our campuses.
