Professors ask for N2.5m minimum salary, decry poor conditions on campuses

Some Nigerian university professors are demanding that their salaries be increased to at least N2.5 million per month, arguing that current earnings are unsustainable.

On Tuesday, lecturers under the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) staged protests across several campuses, accusing the Federal Government of refusing to implement the renegotiated 2009 FGN–ASUU agreement.

With professors currently earning around N500,000 monthly, many have been forced into cramped living arrangements, while others share buses with students to get to campus.

Documents reveal that under the Consolidated University Academic Salary Structure, Graduate Assistants earn between ₦125,000 and ₦138,020 monthly, while professors are paid between ₦525,010 and ₦633,333. Assistant Lecturers earn ₦150,000–₦171,487; Lecturer II, ₦186,543–₦209,693; Lecturer I, ₦239,292–₦281,956; Senior Lecturer, ₦386,101–₦480,780; and Readers, ₦436,392–₦522,212.

In interviews, professors insisted their salaries should not be below ₦2.5 million.

Prof. Remi Aiyede of the University of Ibadan said Nigerian academics earn far less than colleagues across Africa.

He noted, “If you want to benchmark it across countries, you will see that the monthly pay of an average professor across Africa is between $2,000 and $4,000. So, if you break that down to naira, then you will have an idea of what we are talking about. In fact, a million naira is conservative. Professors in Nigeria should not earn less than ₦2.5m monthly. After the Nimi-Briggs Commission, there was a committee set up by this government, which looked into the matter. The report was submitted to the President, and if I understand what was written in that document, a professor should be earning about ₦2.5m.”

At the University of Lagos, Prof. Abigail Ndizika-Ogwezzy of the Department of Mass Communication stressed that decent pay was vital for effective teaching and research.

“Anything less than ₦2.5m for a professor at the bar is not it; look at the reality. If I want to get a house to live in this Akoka area, it’s not less than ₦3m per year. Then won’t I feed, pay my children’s fees, ride a good car and even take care of my health? Then when is my reward? We are carrying the burden of three, four, five people. It is impacting our health, our eyes. We have to read scripts, prepare notes, do community service, conduct research, publish, and attend conferences. Meanwhile, we are all buying from the same market as private sector workers, yet many lecturers cannot pay their children’s school fees,” she lamented.

Prof. Sheriffdeen Tela of Babcock University, Ogun State, also backed the call for higher pay, citing the gap between professors and political office holders.He said, “If you are saying that a professor receives not less than ₦1.2m in a month, that means that in a year it’s still less than what the legislature takes home in a month. Some people were advocating ₦2.5m monthly, and yes, even with the kind of economy that we are in now, it makes sense. Many professors live on loans because their salaries are not enough. Instead of giving them appropriate pay, the Federal Government wants to give them loans, which is wrong.”

Former ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, argued that professors should earn between ₦1m and ₦5m monthly.“If Nigeria truly values education and wants its universities to compete globally, professors must be paid what they are worth. Anything short of this will only worsen the brain drain,” he warned.

(PUNCH)