Lecturers at the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), under the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), on Tuesday staged a one-hour protest on campus, decrying what they described as the “shameful” retirement package of N150,000 for professors and other academic staff.
Addressing journalists after the demonstration, the UNIMAID ASUU Chairman, Dr. Abubakar Mshelia, described the situation as a national embarrassment, warning that a country that treats its intellectuals with neglect cannot hope to achieve meaningful progress.
“Professors who have dedicated over four decades to educating generations now retire on a meagre N150,000 under the contributory pension scheme, while inflation exceeds 21 per cent,” Mshelia said. “This is not just a labour issue; it is a national disgrace.”
He lamented unpaid salary arrears of between 25–35 per cent, as well as promotion arrears owed to lecturers for over four years, while criticizing the Federal Government’s recent approval of nine new private universities despite an earlier moratorium.
ASUU also rejected the proposed Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Loan Scheme, condemned non-remittance of third-party deductions, and expressed dismay over the refusal to sign the renegotiated 2009 agreement.
Equally, the union strongly opposed the government’s decision to rename the University of Maiduguri after the late President Muhammadu Buhari, describing it as “provocative” and “a violation of university autonomy, academic freedom, and institutional integrity.”
Mshelia warned that if the government continues to ignore the grievances of lecturers, the union may have no choice but to resort to strike action.
“Strikes are never our first choice,” he said. “But when dialogue is ignored, industrial action becomes inevitable.”
