Professors in Nigerian universities have called for their salaries to be raised to at least N2.5 million per month, describing current pay as unsustainable. The demand came as members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) staged protests on several campuses on Tuesday, criticising the government’s failure to implement the renegotiated 2009 FGN–ASUU agreement.
Under the current Consolidated University Academic Salary Structure, professors earn between N525,010 and N633,333 monthly, while junior lecturers earn significantly less. Many professors say this makes it challenging for their families to afford housing, healthcare, and education.
Speaking to The Saturday PUNCH, Prof. Remi Aiyede of the University of Ibadan said salaries in Nigeria lag behind those of peers in other African countries. “If you benchmark across Africa, the monthly pay of an average professor is $2,000 to $4,000. A professor in Nigeria should earn at least N2.5 million,” he said.
Other academics, including Prof. Abigail Ndizika-Ogwezzy of the University of Lagos and Prof. Sheriffdeen Tela of Babcock University, highlighted that low pay forces lecturers to overwork and rely on loans, thereby widening the gap with political officeholders. Former ASUU President Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke warned that failure to address remuneration could worsen Nigeria’s brain drain.
