Nigerian universities: Between hope and collapse — by Oluwadare Ayeni
A few days ago, joy swept across the Nigerian university community when the federal government announced a forty‑per cent (40%) salary increase for academic staff. Lecturers and non‑academic employees alike donned the toga of relief, hopeful that things could finally get better. For many, it felt like a long‑awaited recognition of their labour, decades in the making, fought for relentlessly by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU. Yet for countless others, the joy was bittersweet. Many who had fought these battles for decades had passed away, and many more retired without ever witnessing the fruits of their struggle.
Before the recent increment, the reality for Nigerian lecturers was grim. Graduate assistants earned barely one hundred and twenty‑five thousand to one hundred and thirty‑eight thousand naira (₦125,000–₦138,020) per month, assistant lecturers between one hundred and fifty thousand to one hundred and seventy‑one thousand four hundred and eighty‑seven naira (₦150,000–₦171,487), Lecturer II around one hundred and eighty‑six thousand five hundred and forty-three to two hundred and nine thousand six hundred and ninety-three naira (₦186,543–₦209,693), Lecturer I between two hundred and thirty-nine thousand two hundred and ninety-two to two hundred and eighty-one thousand nine hundred and fifty-six naira (₦239,292–₦281,956), senior lecturers between three hundred and eighty-six thousand one hundred and one to four hundred and eighty thousand seven hundred and eighty naira (₦386,101–₦480,780), readers between four hundred and thirty-six thousand three hundred and ninety-two to five hundred and twenty-two thousand two hundred and twelve naira (₦436,392–₦522,212), and full professors between five hundred and twenty-five thousand ten to six hundred and thirty-three thousand three hundred and thirty-three naira (₦525,010–₦633,333) per month.
After the forty‑per cent (40%) increment, the amounts improved modestly: graduate assistants now earn roughly two hundred and thirty-eight thousand to three hundred and eight thousand naira (₦238,000–₦308,000), Lecturer II around three hundred and fifty thousand to four hundred and twenty thousand naira (₦350,000–₦420,000), Lecturer I approximately four hundred and ninety thousand to five hundred and sixty thousand naira (₦490,000–₦560,000), senior lecturers seven hundred and twenty-eight thousand to seven hundred and ninety-eight thousand naira (₦728,000–₦798,000), and full professors between one million one hundred ninety thousand and one million three hundred thirty thousand naira (₦1,190,000–₦1,330,000) monthly. Even with these increases, many academics are still struggling to make ends meet in a country where the cost of living continues to soar.
For the lecturers themselves, the struggle is intensely personal. Many competent and experienced academics have left the system altogether, disillusioned by poor welfare, low salaries, and lack of recognition. Those who remain are stretched thin, filling the void left by their departed colleagues, teaching larger classes, supervising more students, and juggling administrative responsibilities on skeletal salaries. Some newly recruited lecturers have gone for months, in some cases nearly a year, without receiving a salary. In certain universities, these young academics have resorted to sleeping in their offices simply because they cannot afford rent, trying to maintain their dignity while working tirelessly to educate the nation’s youth.
The human cost is even more profound when family life is considered. Many lecturers have children enrolled in the very universities where they teach. When tuition fees rise while salaries remain insufficient, it effectively negates the hard-won pay increase. A lecturer may see a larger figure on their payslip, yet much of that increment is swallowed up by the education of their own children, a cruel irony that leaves families trapped in financial stress. This is not merely a policy oversight; it is a moral wound, a deep injustice inflicted on those entrusted with shaping the nation’s intellectual future.
Comparatively, Nigerian lecturers are severely underpaid. Professors in South Africa earn over fifty-seven thousand US dollars (USD 57,471) annually, more than thirteen times what a Nigerian professor earns. In Uganda, professors earn about fifty thousand US dollars (USD 50,595) per year, while in Kenya, the figure is close to forty-eight thousand US dollars (USD 48,000). Even in smaller economies such as Eswatini, Lesotho, Gabon, and Sierra Leone, academics earn far more than their Nigerian counterparts. These disparities are not abstract; they are lived experiences. Nigerian lecturers often juggle multiple jobs, take on private tutoring, or stretch meagre salaries to care for their families, all while striving to maintain teaching and research standards.
The consequences of underfunding extend beyond the welfare of staff. Nigerian universities are engines of national development, yet the country continues to rely heavily on research and technological outcomes developed abroad. Neglecting domestic universities stifles innovation, undermines self-sufficiency, and weakens national sovereignty. Knowledge is power, and a nation without adequately supported intellectual infrastructure is left vulnerable, dependent on others for solutions to its own problems.
The recent pay increment is a moment of relief, but it is not a solution. True progress requires sustained, holistic investment in higher education. Salaries must allow lecturers to live with dignity, infrastructure and laboratories must meet global standards, research funding must be predictable and sufficient, and university governance must empower institutions to retain talent rather than drive it away. Partnerships with foreign institutions should complement domestic capacity, not replace it. Only through such reforms can Nigerian universities produce the knowledge, technologies, and leaders needed to secure the nation’s future.
In the face of these challenges, the courage and dedication of Nigerian lecturers stand out. They continue to teach, research, and inspire under conditions that would break many. Their struggle is not only for themselves but for the students who sit in their classrooms, for the nation that depends on their knowledge, and for generations yet to come. The forty‑per cent salary increase is a milestone, but it is only the beginning. Until systemic neglect ends and lecturers are treated with the respect, stability, and support they deserve, fleeting victories will continue to be overshadowed by strikes, hardship, and brain drain. Nigeria must transform temporary relief into sustained dignity, capacity, and hope, building a university system capable of nurturing minds, empowering families, and shaping a nation ready to compete on the global stage.
The current increment must be paid, salaries must be paid on time and we say no to amputated salaries.
Oluwadare Ayeni PhD
An expert on African Democracy and Public Governance
