By Emmanuel Kwada
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has declared a two-week warning strike, set to paralyze public universities across Nigeria starting midnight on Monday, October 13. For lecturers like Dr. Amina Yusuf, a history professor at the University of Abuja, this decision weighs heavily. “We don’t want to abandon our students,” she says, her voice heavy with frustration. “But how do we teach when our salaries barely cover rent, and our classrooms lack basic tools?”
ASUU’s National President, Professor Chris Piwuna, announced the strike during a somber press conference at the University of Abuja on Sunday. He explained that the union’s 14-day ultimatum, issued on September 28, expired without meaningful action from the Federal Government.
“We’ve begged, we’ve rallied, we’ve waited,” Piwuna said, his words echoing the exhaustion of thousands of academics. “The government’s silence has left us no choice.”
The strike, described as “total and comprehensive,” follows a National Executive Council meeting where ASUU decried the government’s neglect of Nigeria’s university system.
In August, lecturers across federal and state universities held rallies, wielding placards and pleading for better funding, improved welfare, and the implementation of a long-overdue 2009 agreement. “Nothing came out of it,” Piwuna lamented. “The government has a habit of ignoring education.”
For students like Chinedu Okoye, a final-year engineering student at Ahmadu Bello University, the strike is a gut punch. “I’m supposed to graduate next month,” he says, sitting on a bench outside his hostel, his textbooks untouched. “Now, I don’t know when I’ll finish. My family is struggling to support me, and this delay feels like a betrayal.”
Last Wednesday, the Federal Government, through Education Minister Tunji Alausa, appealed to ASUU to reconsider, promising progress in negotiations. Alausa highlighted the reconstitution of the Mahmud Yayale Ahmed Negotiation Committee to address the union’s demands.
“President Bola Tinubu has directed us to prevent disruptions,” he said at a press conference in Abuja. But for ASUU, the appeal rang hollow. “Two working days before the strike, they finally speak,” Piwuna said on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief. “It’s too late.”
The union’s grievances are rooted in years of unfulfilled promises. The 2009 agreement, still under negotiation after eight years, is a sore point. “We’re not asking for luxuries,” says Dr. Tunde Adebayo, a chemistry lecturer at Bayero University Kano. “We want functional labs, libraries with current books, and salaries that reflect today’s economy. Our students deserve better.”
As the strike looms, the human cost is palpable. Lecturers face financial strain, students stare at uncertain futures, and parents grapple with prolonged expenses. “We’re tired of being ignored,” Piwuna said, his voice firm but weary.
Unless urgent action is taken, Nigeria’s universities will grind to a halt, leaving millions caught in the crossfire of a broken system.
