The Academic Staff Union of Universities has revealed that 84 lecturers died between May and August 2024 because of economic hardship caused by unpaid salaries.
ASUU President, Emmanuel Osodeke, made this announcement during an interview on Channels Television.
“In the past three months, from May to August, Nigerian universities lost 84 academics to death. In three months, because of what our people are going through,” Osodeke said.
He emphasized the financial struggle university lecturers face, particularly due to the government’s “no work, no pay” policy, which was applied during the 2022 strike.
“Despite this crisis, you are holding somebody’s three-and-a-half or more salaries… People are trying to survive, and then you introduced fuel increase, you introduced electricity increase, and everything is gone now,” Osodeke added.
ASUU has called for better funding for Nigerian universities, arguing that lecturers need to be well-paid and motivated to provide quality education. Osodeke, who has been a professor for 15 years, stated that he earns only N420,000 per month, making it difficult for Nigerian academics to compete globally.
In September 2024, ASUU issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to resolve issues, including the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement and the release of withheld salaries from the 2022 strike.
During the 2022 strike, the government invoked the “no work, no pay” policy. Though President Bola Tinubu approved the release of four months’ withheld salaries in October 2023, ASUU argues that all eight months must be paid in full. “The government clearing only four months is not a favour; our members must be fully paid for the entire period of the industrial action in 2022,” Osodeke said.
