Nigeria’s public universities may soon be shut down again as the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) threatens an indefinite strike over the federal government’s failure to meet its demands.
The union accuses the government of neglecting the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement, which promised improved funding, better welfare, revitalisation of public universities, and institutional autonomy.
Sixteen years on, ASUU says most of the commitments remain unfulfilled.
ASUU President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, said lecturers are frustrated by unpaid salary arrears, withheld promotion benefits, non-remittance of deductions for pensions and cooperatives, as well as the non-release of revitalisation funds.
He also described the retirement benefit of ₦150,000 for professors as a “national embarrassment.”
“We have always chosen dialogue first, but the government has failed to show seriousness.
“Our fear is that they want public universities to collapse the way public primary and secondary schools did,” Piwuna said.
Meanwhile, Education Minister Olatunji Alausa has dismissed fears of a looming shutdown, insisting that “children will remain in school” and that talks with ASUU are ongoing.
But many stakeholders remain sceptical, citing years of broken promises.
Students remain caught in the middle, with frequent strikes disrupting academic calendars and delaying graduations.
Analysts warn that another shutdown could further damage the quality of education and deepen the crisis in Nigeria’s university system.
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