Lecturers and multiple salary; another brief lecture...

By Abdelghaffar Amoka

Goodluck Jonathan established 11 Federal universities in 2011. Buhari recently established 2 Federal Universities in Daura and Zuru in 2019. Who will teach in these universities? The simplest answer is that we have millions of unemployed graduates. Just employ them. But employment is not that straight forward in the universities. You can't populate the universities with fresh graduates. They need to be trained and mentored by senior colleague. As a matter of fact, a Graduate Assistant is not suppose to teach but on training after his MSc. According to the set regulations by the government, each cadre of Academic staff has a ratio. And you must satisfy the minimum requirement to get accreditation to start academic programs.

While you have plenty fresh graduates for their cadre who are ordinarily not qualified to teach, you need senior Academics which is not readily available. You may be able to grab some guys from the existing universities but you can't get much. So to satisfy the requirements to offer the required courses, such universities source for Sabbatical Staff and Visiting Lecturers from the existing universities. The law allows that and you get paid for the job aside your salary from your primary institution.

That is the origin of multiple salaries of some Lecturers in the university. The multiple salary is legitimate and only about 5% of the Lecturers are involved in that. In my department, only one Lecturer is a Visiting Professor in another university.

Most state government universities and private universities relied on Professors, Associate Professors and Senior Lecturers from the old universities. Without these set of Lecturers, the celebrated new universities will not be qualified to award degree in most of the courses they are offering.

Meanwhile, for those wondering what right Academics have got to challenge their "Employer", remember that we hired the Employer to run Nigeria. Democracy is meant to be about the people and the voice of the people must count.

Just to think of it, how many Unions will have 2 months withheld salary and not eager to take it? Only ASUU can do that because they believe in their struggle.

If as a beneficiary you can't understand what ASUU is fighting for, ASUU don't need your sympathy to do what we believe is the right thing to do.

Starve us, insult us, call us names, your mindset about us can't change anything. This not about you or me but about university education and Nigeria.

Abdelghaffar Amoka
ABU Zaria