A wave of agitation swept across Nigerian universities on Tuesday as professors and members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities took to the streets, demanding that their salaries be raised to a minimum of N2.5 million monthly. The protests, which broke out simultaneously on several campuses, were triggered by the Federal Government’s failure to implement the renegotiated 2009 FGN–ASUU agreement. For years, lecturers have consistently complained about poor remuneration, worsening living standards, and deteriorating working conditions within the nation’s academic environment.
Currently, under the Consolidated University Academic Salary Structure, professors earn between N525,010 and N633,333 monthly, while Graduate Assistants receive just about N125,000 to N138,020. Assistant Lecturers are paid between N150,000 and N171,487, Lecturer II earns between N186,543 and N209,693, Lecturer I between N239,292 and N281,956, Senior Lecturers between N386,101 and N480,780, and Readers between N436,392 and N522,212. With these figures falling far short of economic realities, many academics say they have been reduced to struggling for survival, with some squatting in staff quarters while others compete with undergraduates for transportation on buses meant for students.
Professors who spoke to the press insisted that their monthly pay should not fall below N2.5 million if Nigeria truly wants to strengthen its educational system. At the University of Ibadan, Professor Remi Aiyede lamented that Nigerian professors were grossly underpaid when compared to their colleagues in other African countries. He noted that across the continent, the average professor earns between $2,000 and $4,000 monthly, which, when converted to naira, surpasses what Nigerian lecturers currently take home. He recalled that after the Nimi-Briggs Commission, the government’s own committee report recommended figures in line with the N2.5 million demand, yet the authorities had failed to implement it.
At the University of Lagos, Professor Abigail Ndizika-Ogwezzy of the Department of Mass Communication echoed the same sentiment, stressing that anything less than N2.5 million was not acceptable. She argued that the cost of living around the Akoka campus alone had become unbearable, with annual rents rising to about N3 million. She explained that lecturers, beyond struggling to pay for housing, also needed to feed their families, pay school fees, maintain cars, and take care of their health. She described the workload of lecturers as overwhelming, pointing out that they must read scripts, prepare lecture notes, conduct research, publish papers, attend conferences, and engage in community service, all while battling deteriorating health due to the sheer weight of their responsibilities.
Professor Sheriffdeen Tela of Babcock University in Ogun State also supported the N2.5 million demand, describing the disparity between professors and political office holders as indefensible. He compared the annual earnings of professors to the monthly take-home of legislators, noting that even with the economic downturn, a professor’s salary remained disgracefully low. He revealed that many professors survive on loans because their salaries cannot cover their needs, and he criticized government attempts to offer academic staff loans instead of fair pay as an insult to their sacrifices.
Former ASUU President, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, reinforced the call, stressing that if Nigeria truly values education and wants its universities to compete globally, professors should earn between N1 million and N5 million monthly. According to him, anything short of this would only worsen the problem of brain drain, as many Nigerian academics continue to flee to institutions abroad where their expertise and contributions are better appreciated.
The latest protests reflect growing frustration within the Nigerian academic community, which has endured years of unfulfilled promises, poor infrastructure, and repeated strikes. Lecturers argue that raising their salaries is not just a matter of personal welfare but a crucial step in preserving the future of higher education in the country. They insist that anything less than N2.5 million for professors is no longer tenable in the face of rising inflation, worsening economic conditions, and the need to restore dignity to the profession.
