By Comrade Sanusi A. S. Maikudi
Introduction
The 2009 Agreement between the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) was never meant to be a political handshake. It was a carefully negotiated roadmap to restore quality, stability, and global competitiveness to Nigeria’s public universities.
Yet, for 15 years, its implementation has been partial, delayed, or avoided altogether, breeding distrust, disrupting academic calendars, and accelerating the brain drain.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu now has a rare opportunity to break this cycle. He does not need to solve every multi-trillion-naira demand in one fiscal year. He only needs to decisively tackle the low-hanging fruits while creating a credible path to resolving the rest.
Previous governments largely failed due to lack of political will, often hiding behind the excuse of “no money.” Yet, no one can credibly make that claim when anti-corruption agencies report trillions in stolen public funds.
- Change in the Global University Management Paradigm
The operating environment of universities has changed dramatically worldwide, but Nigeria has missed that train. While universities in both the Global North and South have embraced change, most Nigerian institutions still operate on a 19th-century model in a 21st-century VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) world.
The convergence of the third General Purpose Technology, the computer and the internet, after the internal combustion engine and electricity, has transformed the economies and societies universities serve. Yet, the NUC and other stakeholders cling to outdated governance, funding, and teaching models.
We are now in an era of creative destruction. Only universities, and governments, that adapt will remain relevant, sustainable, and functional.
- The Strategic Imperative: Producing High-Level Manpower
Nigeria, as the largest Black nation on earth, cannot afford an underperforming higher education sector. Our global influence, economic competitiveness, and cultural leadership depend on producing world-class scientists, engineers, teachers, doctors, innovators, and policy thinkers.
No nation in history has achieved sustainable development without investing heavily in the institutions that produce its high-level manpower. Universities are the knowledge factories that power national transformation.
If our public universities remain underfunded and unstable, Nigeria risks becoming permanently dependent on foreign expertise, further eroding sovereignty and slowing progress towards the aspirations of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
- Time to Avoid Cosmetic Gestures and Focus on Fundamentals
Recent welfare packages offered by the FGN to ASUU, though welcome, do not address the core issues of the agreement.
On 8 August 2025, ASUU President Christopher Piwuna responded to remarks by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, who promised that “never again” would lecturers go on strike. ASUU welcomed dialogue but made it clear: words alone are not enough.
In quick succession, President Tinubu launched two welfare schemes:
Tertiary Institution Staff Support Fund (TISSF) — concessional loans for lecturers and non-academic staff for personal, housing, and family needs.
Free Healthcare for Low-Income Retirees — medical cost coverage for eligible pensioners under the Contributory Pension Scheme.
If managed transparently, these could ease financial and health pressures. But they remain palliatives. Loans and healthcare benefits cannot replace fair salaries, timely arrears, revitalised infrastructure, and genuine respect for university autonomy.
- Words of Caution to FGN and ASUU
Both sides must avoid dangerous ideological rigidity—particularly the romanticisation of neoliberal orthodoxy over patriotic pragmatism. Solving this crisis requires:
Leveraging on- and off-budget sources such as NASS constituency projects, TETFUND, and the Education Tax.
Mobilising domestic and international development partners.
This is no time for ego or dogma. It is a time for pragmatic nationalism, with the National Council of State stepping in to save Nigeria’s public university system from collapse.
- Three Low-Hanging Fruits for 2026
The FGN can break the jinx by taking these practical steps:
Clear Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) Arrears — Pay at least ₦120–₦250 billion in 2026 to show genuine commitment.
Targeted Revitalisation Projects — Allocate ₦200–₦300 billion to ICT, laboratories, lecture halls, and hostels.
Realistic Salary Review Approve a 50% upward adjustment for academic staff to reflect inflation and naira depreciation.
- Recommendations
Earmark 75% of Education Tax collections for funding the FGN/ASUU Agreement.
Require NASS principal officers and members to dedicate 2026 constituency projects to agreed priorities.
Mobilise the Organised Private Sector and development partners to co-fund interventions.
Enforce value-for-money procurement and adopt zero tolerance for corruption to prevent diversion of funds.
- Why It Matters Now
Fixing the rot in Nigeria’s public universities requires a mindset different from the one that created it. As Albert Einstein said: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”
President Tinubu has a golden opportunity to write his name in gold in Nigeria’s educational history by finally addressing the stalemate in implementing the FGN/ASUU Agreement.
The 2026 fiscal year is more than another budget cycle; it is a political inflection point before the 2027 elections. The loan and healthcare schemes are welcome, but unless the substantive issues are resolved, they will be remembered as band-aids on a deep wound.
The low-hanging fruits are within reach. The funding sources are identifiable. And the stakes, for Nigeria’s future as a leading African power, could not be higher. The time to act is now.
The author who is of the Network for Justice, Kaduna is reachable via sanusihmaikudi@yahoo.com
