The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has raised alarm over a growing wave of resignations among high-profile professors and young lecturers in Nigeria’s public universities, driven by poor salaries, abysmal working conditions, and a lack of government commitment to academic welfare.
Dr. Adefemi Afolabi, ASUU Chairman at the University of Ibadan, made the disclosure during a radio programme, Situation Room, in Ibadan, Oyo State, warning that the brain drain threatens the future of tertiary education in Nigeria.“We don’t work in an ideal environment,” Afolabi said.
“How do you reward your intellectuals with so little and still expect them to be happy and continue to work?” He highlighted the dire circumstances forcing both seasoned professors and recently employed lecturers to seek better opportunities abroad, as galloping inflation and inadequate pay erode their livelihoods.
“Lecturers are finding it difficult to come to the office due to the high cost of transportation. Those who come cannot concentrate because of many unmet needs,” he added.
The remarks come amid ASUU’s ongoing two-week warning strike, which began on Monday to protest the Federal Government’s failure to honor agreements on staff welfare and university funding.
Afolabi criticized the government’s “delay tactics” and lack of sincerity in collective bargaining, accusing it of undermining trust by repeatedly forming new committees to revisit settled issues.
“How can you not trust your own committees and still come up with another to review what the last one did, then set up yet another expanded committee to meet with the union again?” he questioned.
Afolabi expressed frustration at the government’s disregard for tertiary education, noting that its neglect has pushed ASUU to the brink.
“The Federal Government has taken ASUU for granted for too long,” he said, emphasizing that the strike was a last resort to address policies that “disrupt the livelihoods and survival of lecturers.”
The union is demanding better salaries, improved working conditions, and increased funding for the revitalization of public universities, which it says are critical to serving the children of the masses.
The exodus of academic talent, Afolabi warned, is a symptom of a deeper crisis. With Nigeria’s inflation rate soaring and the naira’s value plummeting, lecturers’ salaries, unchanged for over a decade can barely cover basic needs. Public universities, once hubs of intellectual excellence, are now grappling with dilapidated infrastructure and a demoralized workforce.
“The situation is terrible,” Afolabi said, painting a grim picture of campuses where lecturers struggle to afford transport or focus on teaching.
ASUU remains steadfast in its fight, vowing not to relent until the government commits to meaningful reforms. “We will not abandon the struggle for decent welfare and conditions of service for our members,” Afolabi declared.
The union’s demands include implementing agreements from past negotiations, such as the 2009 ASUU-FG agreement, which promised regular funding for university infrastructure and staff welfare.
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