ASUU Storms Campuses Nationwide, Warns of Imminent Strike Over Govt’s ‘Wicked Neglect’ of Universities
ASUU Storms Campuses Nationwide, Warns of Imminent Strike Over Govt’s ‘Wicked Neglect’ of Universities
Lecturers under the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) yesterday staged coordinated protests across Nigeria’s major campuses, warning that another nationwide strike is imminent if the federal government continues to ignore their long-standing demands.
From Lagos to Sokoto, Awka to Akure, and Ilorin to Port Harcourt, placard-wielding lecturers marched through universities chanting solidarity songs and condemning what they described as government’s “wicked, heartless neglect” of public higher education.
At the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), ASUU Chairman, Prof. Pius Mogaji, accused government officials of betraying public trust by abandoning the renegotiated 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement and ignoring a report submitted by the Alhaji Yayale Ahmed committee since February 2025.
“Our patience has been stretched to breaking point. Trust has been shattered. If government continues this provocation, it alone must bear the consequences of the storm that will follow. Restore trust now – or brace for the inevitable,” Mogaji declared.
In Sokoto, where members from Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto State University and Shehu Shagari University of Education joined forces, ASUU leaders blasted government’s proposed loan scheme for lecturers, dismissing it as a “poisoned chalice” meant to enslave academics. They demanded immediate release of withheld salaries and full implementation of the renegotiated draft agreement pending since 2021.
At Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, lecturers marched through major roads, accusing government of deliberately delaying reforms while their salaries stagnate. “Time is running out. We should not be blamed if harmony collapses on our campuses,” warned NAU Chapter Chair, Dr. Innocent Nnubia.
In Lagos, the UNILAG ASUU Chairman, Prof. Idou Keinde, lamented that professors who served the nation for 40 years retire on pensions as low as ₦450,000 in today’s harsh economy. “Our members teach on empty stomachs. We cannot be kept talking forever. Enough is enough,” he said.
Similar warnings echoed from University of Ilorin, Lokoja, Port Harcourt, and Benin, where lecturers denounced 16 years of salary stagnation, lack of facilities, and what they termed a deliberate attempt to “kill public education in Nigeria.”
At University of Benin, protesters shut down academic activities for hours, insisting that the government cannot continue to ignore agreements reached since 2009. “Around the world, nations are investing in education; in Nigeria, government starves universities of funds while multiplying them without support,” lamented ASUU Chairman, Ray Chikogu.
ASUU has set August 28, 2025, as a decisive date, with its Federal University Lokoja Chairman, Dr. Janfa Timothy, warning that the union could embark on a nationwide strike immediately after its next meeting if government remains unresponsive.
The union also appealed to civil society, student groups, religious leaders, traditional rulers, and the National Assembly to prevail on the government before the situation snowballs into yet another paralyzing shutdown of Nigerian universities.
By Haruna Yakubu Haruna
