The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has revealed that 84 lecturers died between May and August 2024 as a result of economic hardship and unpaid salaries, further highlighting the dire state of Nigeria’s university system.
This disclosure was made by the ASUU President, Emmanuel Osodeke, during an appearance on the socio-political programme Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, aired on Channels Television.
Osodeke decried the prevailing economic conditions that have contributed to the untimely deaths of Nigerian academics, stating that their suffering has been exacerbated by the federal government’s withholding of salaries.
“In the past three months, from May to August, Nigerian universities lost 84 academics to death. In three months, because of what our people are going through,” Osodeke said.
He attributed the deaths to the financial stress and the strain placed on lecturers by the harsh economic policies, including the removal of fuel subsidies and hikes in electricity prices.
Osodeke criticized the government’s continued enforcement of the ‘no work, no pay’ policy, which was implemented after the prolonged 2022 strike by academic and non-academic unions.
“Despite this crisis, you are holding somebody’s three-and-a-half or more salaries on the no-work, no-pay basis. People are trying to survive, you introduced fuel increase, you introduced electricity increase, and everything is gone now,” he added.
Osodeke called for increased funding for the university system, emphasizing the need to adequately compensate lecturers if the country’s higher education sector is to function effectively.
He lamented the poor salaries earned by Nigerian academics, using himself as an example, stating that despite being a professor for 15 years, his monthly salary remains at N420,000, a figure he argued is insufficient to meet global standards.
“We cannot compete globally if our lecturers are not well-paid,” Osodeke stressed, urging the government to prioritize the welfare of lecturers.
On September 25, 2024, ASUU issued a 14-day ultimatum to the federal government, demanding a resolution to several lingering issues.
Among the union’s demands are the conclusion of the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement and the full release of withheld salaries for lecturers affected by the 2022 strike.
During the eight-month strike, President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration implemented the ‘no work, no pay’ policy, leaving lecturers and non-academic staff without pay for the duration of the strike.
Although President Bola Tinubu approved the payment of four months’ worth of withheld salaries in October 2023, only ASUU members benefited from the decision.
The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), which also participated in the industrial action, have yet to receive any payment.
Osodeke maintained that ASUU members should be paid for the entire period of the 2022 strike.
He argued that the partial payment made by the Tinubu administration did not constitute a favour, as it still left several months of withheld salaries unresolved.
“The government has not done lecturers any favours by releasing only four months of our withheld salaries. We are demanding full payment for the entire eight-month period of the industrial action,” he concluded.
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