By Emmanuel Kwada
In a move that could paralyze Nigeria’s public universities once again, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has handed the Federal Government a stark 14-day ultimatum to resolve long-standing grievances, threatening an initial two-week warning strike followed by an indefinite shutdown if demands go unmet.
The ultimatum, issued on September 28, 2025, revives a bitter cycle of disputes that have fueled six strikes over the past 13 years, leaving generations of students in limbo and the nation’s higher education system in chronic disarray.
ASUU’s National Executive Council (NEC), meeting at the University of Abuja, decried the government’s “persistent neglect” of the university system and its “consistent refusal to heed” repeated appeals.
In a strongly worded statement signed by ASUU President Prof. Christopher Piwuna, the union accused authorities of ignoring media engagements, campus rallies, and formal protests held as recently as August 2025, all aimed at averting this escalation.
At the heart of the crisis is the unfulfilled 2009 ASUU-Federal Government Agreement, a comprehensive pact on salary increases, infrastructure upgrades, and academic autonomy that has become a symbol of governmental foot-dragging.
“The Federal Government has a strong habit of paying little or no attention to the education sector in general and the welfare of university academics in particular,” Piwuna stated, highlighting how these failures have compounded over more than a decade.
The Federal Government has a strong habit of paying little or no attention to the education sector in general and the welfare of university academics in particular
The union’s seven-point agenda includes immediate renegotiation of the 2009 deal, release of adequate revitalization funds for public universities, payment of outstanding salary arrears (including 25-35% increases and four years of promotion backlogs), settlement of withheld salaries from previous strikes, non-remittance of third-party deductions, and an end to the alleged victimization of ASUU members at institutions like Lagos State University (LASU), Prince Abubakar Audu University (formerly Kogi State University), and the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO).
The clock is ticking: If no concrete action is taken by October 12, 2025, ASUU warns it will have “no option but to embark on a two-week warning strike and thereafter, a total and indefinite strike,” potentially halting lectures, exams, and graduations across the country’s federal and state universities.
This comes despite the government’s formation of a review committee in recent months, chaired by Abel Enitan, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, tasked with examining ASUU’s proposals for sector stability. To date, however, the panel has issued no public updates, fueling accusations of deliberate stalling.
No option but to embark on a two-week warning strike and thereafter, a total and indefinite strike
ASUU’s frustration echoes a painful history. Since 2010, the union has resorted to strikes totaling over 1,000 lost days—equivalent to years of disrupted learning—over identical issues of underfunding and breached commitments.
Critics, including education stakeholders and civil society groups, warn that another walkout would exacerbate Nigeria’s brain drain, widen inequality in access to quality education, and undermine the country’s global competitiveness. “We believe the Government has the capacity and financial strength to fix Nigerian universities once and for all,” Piwuna implored, urging parents, students, religious leaders, traditional rulers, and all Nigerians to pressure authorities for swift intervention.
As the ultimatum unfolds amid economic strains and rising youth unemployment, the stakes could not be higher. A government spokesperson was unavailable for immediate comment, but with the deadline approaching, the nation’s academic future hangs in the balance—yet another chapter in a saga that demands resolution before it exacts yet more toll on tomorrow’s leaders.
