The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU expressed concern on Tuesday about the shortage of staff in various departments and units of Nigeria’s public universities, attributing this to the high number of lecturers resigning in search of better opportunities.
The Chairman of the University of Ibadan Chapter of ASUU, Prof. Ayo Akinwole, stated in Ibadan, Oyo State, that Nigeria’s public universities are currently facing dire circumstances, with visibly stressed and frustrated lecturers receiving inadequate compensation.
Akinwole identified poor and delayed salaries, unpaid allowances, insufficient infrastructure, lack of respect for the academic community, and diminishing hope as some of the reasons for the recent wave of resignations.
He said, “Except President Bola Tinubu arrests the situation by reviewing the conditions of service in terms and salaries, allowances, and infrastructure, many good hands will continue to resign and leave the country. Unfortunately, the same government that is not funding education has a National Assembly proposing to establish 32 more universities.”
He further emphasized that establishing additional universities would not address the issue, but rather suggested that improving the capacity of existing institutions would enable them to admit more students.
“The union has received reports on how colleagues resign on a monthly basis because of the way lecturers are treated and poorly remunerated in Nigeria. Universities around the world are poaching more quality hands, and if not halted by the government, through intentional reviewing of upward conditions of service, it will be difficult to retain the best hands.
“Vice Chancellors can not single-handedly employ to replace staff as urgent as it is needed again. They have to contact Abuja for approval, which may take six months to a year, if not more, before they get approval. By this time, the best candidate has gone to a more serious country that respects quality. Sadly, people from higher up there from the Ministry of Education to legislators themselves want to dictate who the universities should employ,” the don said.
