By: Patrick Ezihe

The history of public tertiary education in Nigeria would be incomplete without acknowledging the impact of frequent and recurring  industrial strikes embarked on by Academic Staff Union of Universities. These industrial actions, often prolonged and unresolved, have as their antecedent the disruption of students’ academic endeavors, putting lives on hold.

The 47-year-old academic pressure group, ASUU,  which came into existence in 1978, has the mandate to protect the interests of its members, the lecturers. However, it has turned to be a sword wielded through  industrial strikes, as the union’s long-standing demands and concerns remain neglected.

From the historic 1988 strike, which saw the union banned under the military regime, to the 2022 industrial action that stretched over eight months, the Academic Staff Union of Universities has been known for carrying the torch of industrial  demonstration against poor funding of public education, infrastructural decay, and above all, poor remuneration of its members. In truth, no generation of undergraduates in Nigerian federal universities can boast of completing their studies without the disruptive shadow of ASUU strikes looming over them.

Nonetheless, to attribute this perpetual turbulence to mere obstinacy on the part of ASUU is to miss the crux of the problem. The poor remuneration of Nigerian lecturers is a clear dismissal of humanity when compared  to the fair treatment enjoyed by their counterparts in the developed countries.

It is ridiculous that a senior lecturer in Nigeria earns less than a graduate intern in some corporate organizations. The nemesis of neglecting this community’s concerns is not far-fetched. lecturers, who ought to dedicate intellectual and moral energy to impacting relevant knowledge on students, have been compelled to diversify their sources of livelihood at the detriment of student performance. Some lecture simultaneously in multiple universities, dashing in and out of campuses to meet tight schedules, while others dive into private businesses, consultancies, farms, shops, and sundry ventures.

It would not be out of logic to establish that a lecturer cannot give his best in a university during the day if he has spent the previous evening delivering lectures in another institution or managing a side hustle in order to make ends meet. This dilution of commitment, which may not be castigated due to the failure of the federal government to adequately fund the educational system, produces half-baked graduates, inconsistent academic mentorship, and a broken expectation in the very idea of the university as a citadel of learning and as the apex of educational institutions.

The strikes, which have become almost cyclical, serve as both a symptom and a consequence of poor remuneration. Since 1999 , ASUU has gone on strike over 15 times. The eight-month strike in 2022 became one of the longest in history, and when lecturers returned to their academic duties, nothing much had changed except that students had lost valuable time, with some drifting into depression, promiscuity and early marriages, or crime out of sheer idleness.

Although understandable, the industrial strike has inevitably caused more harm than to students. When ASUU protests, who should bear the torch alongside them? If indeed the issues are poor remuneration, dilapidated lecture halls, and poor funding of universities, should students not join their voices, since they are the most affected? Of what use is ASUU strike to students, if at the end of the day, their academic year is wasted?

The sad irony has been that when lecturers resume to their duties after each strike, students are often left carrying the scars of time lost, degrees delayed, opportunities missed, and dreams deferred.The University of Ibadan, Nigeria’s premier university, has faced its fair share of concern. Though the university prides itself as the “first and the best,” its reality often mirrors the academic crises plaguing other federal universities in Nigeria as students often face challenges attached to deplorable learning environments, outdated facilities, and lecturers stretched thin between commitments. It is not uncommon to find a course left untaught for weeks because the lecturer perhaps, has other pressing commitments. Such realities erode the essence of university education, leaving students to wonder if they are truly prepared for the outside world.

Poor remuneration also fuels a subtle but dangerous orientation and a negative mindset. Many lecturers, once they secure opportunities abroad, do not return. Those who remain often do so out of sheer patriotism or lack of alternatives. The ripple effect has been the continuous hemorrhagic emigration of Nigeria’s best brains, leaving behind a system staffed with overstretched hands that struggle to keep the wheels of academia turning. It is here that the link between remuneration and quality of education becomes stark.Without adequate pay, commitment wanes. Without commitment, the educational system fails.

One must also consider the corrosive effect of poor remuneration on the moral compass of academia. Reports abound of lecturers engaging in exploitative practices trading grades for money, or worse, for sex. While these are not excusable, they are traceable in part to a system that fails to reward its intellectual vanguard. Poverty breeds desperation, and desperation corrupts integrity. In a way, the government’s neglect of lecturers’ welfare plants the seeds for corruption.These questions then arise;how long shall this cycle endure? If lecturers remain poorly remunerated, they will continue to go on  strike. If they continue to go strike, students will continue to lose. And if students continue to lose, the nation itself is the greatest loser. Universities are the nurseries of national progress, and when they are in ruins, the future of the nation is equally in ruins.

It is, therefore, imperative that a new strategy be employed. Students must move from passive victims to active advocates. If indeed the system is broken, students should join ASUU in demanding reform.Protests, petitions, and collective bargaining should become a united front. For in truth, when ASUU strikes alone, the government drags its feet; but when students and lecturers speak in unison, the weight of their voice cannot be ignored.The government, on its part, must recognize that education is not an expense but an investment. To pay lecturers well is to invest in the minds of the future.

To build hostels, laboratories, and libraries is to secure national development. Conversely, to neglect them is to mortgage the future of the country.The poor remuneration of our lecturers is not just about salaries; it affects the quality of graduates, the global relevance of Nigerian universities, and the future of national progress. Every strike is a wound, every disruption a scar, and every neglected lecturer a missed opportunity for national transformation.

Thus, as the wheels of our universities continue to wobble under the weight of poor remuneration and governmental neglect, these questions must be asked: Will ASUU ever find a lasting remedy to its grievances? Will the government rise above lip service to education? Will students finally see that their silence is a betrayal of their own future? Or will the cycle of poor remuneration, constant strikes, wasted years, crippled dreams and delayed degrees continue with no end.