₦airaland Forum

Varsity Profs Demand N2.5m Monthly Salary

Some Nigerian professors have demanded that their salaries be raised to a minimum of N2.5m per month, insisting that anything less was no longer tenable.

On Tuesday, protests rocked several campuses as members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities decried the Federal Government’s failure to implement the renegotiated 2009 FGN–ASUU agreement.
Lecturers have long decried poor remuneration and declining conditions in the academic environment.
With professors earning about N500,000 monthly, some have been forced to squat in quarters, while others compete with students for space in buses meant for undergraduates.

Documents obtained by Saturday PUNCH show that under the Consolidated University Academic Salary Structure, Graduate Assistants earn between N125,000 and N138,020 monthly, while professors earn between N525,010 and N633,333.

Assistant Lecturers earn N150,000–N171,487; Lecturer II, N186,543–N209,693; Lecturer I, N239,292–N281,956; Senior Lecturer, N386,101–N480,780; and Readers, N436,392–N522,212.

In separate interviews with Saturday PUNCH, the professors insisted that their salaries should not fall below N2.5m.

A professor at the University of Ibadan, Remi Aiyede, said Nigerian professors were grossly underpaid compared to colleagues in other African countries.
He added that a government-commissioned report had already recommended similar figures.

He said, “If you want to benchmark it across countries, you will see that the monthly pay of an average professor across Africa is between $2,000 and $4,000.

“So, if you break that down to naira, then you will have an idea of what we are talking about. In fact, a million naira is conservative. Professors in Nigeria should not earn less than N2.5m monthly.

“After the Nimi-Briggs Commission, there was a committee set up by this government, which looked into the matter. The report was submitted to the President, and if I understand what was written in that document, a professor should be earning about N2.5m.”

At the University of Lagos, Prof. Abigail Ndizika-Ogwezzy of the Department of Mass Communication stressed that professors needed decent pay to deliver effectively.
She lamented that poor conditions was forcing lecturers to overwork themselves.

Anything less than N2.5m for a professor at the bar is not it; look at the reality. If I want to get a house to live in this Akoka area, it’s not less than N3m per year. Then won’t I feed, pay my children’s fees, ride a good car and even take care of my health? Then when is my reward?

“We are carrying the burden of three, four, five people. It is impacting our health, our eyes. We have to read scripts, prepare notes, do community service, conduct research, publish, and attend conferences. Meanwhile, we are all buying from the same market as private sector workers, yet many lecturers cannot pay their children’s school fees,” she added.

Prof. Sheriffdeen Tela of Babcock University, Ogun State, also backed the N2.5m demand, saying the disparity between professors and political office holders was indefensible.

He said, “If you are saying that a professor receives not less than N1.2m in a month, that means that in a year it’s still less than what the legislature takes home in a month. Some people were advocating N2.5m monthly, and yes, even with the kind of economy that we are in now, it makes sense.

“Many professors live on loans because their salaries are not enough. Instead of giving them appropriate pay, the Federal government wants to give them loans, which is wrong.”

Former ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, also argued that professors should earn between N1m and N5m monthly.

“If Nigeria truly values education and wants its universities to compete globally, professors must be paid what they are worth. Anything short of this will only worsen the brain drain,” he said.

https://punchng.com/varsity-profs-demand-n2-5m-salary/

That current N500k is not beans oooo. Though they will argue that it is small and convert to USD before comparing to bigger schools but can they match the bigger schools in output other than the usual "a third class in our school is a first class in their school" defence punchline? The only strong argument they have is our unproductive leaders who earn far more with NEPA bills.
If the disparity in pay for Nigerians lecturers and foreign ones is so high and the lecturers are of global standard, there will be much more migration out to foreign schools.

There is a report that highlights the reasons why the establishment of new tertiary institutions has been postponed for five to seven years. In one of the federal universities in Northern Nigeria, there are 800 students and 1,200 staff members. Why should the federal government continue to fund such an unproductive institution?

The proliferation of professorships should cease. Many professors contribute little to the advancement of Nigeria, not even the establishment of a functional toothpick factory.

I even propose they reduce their salaries to 100k… they’re the ones that act as returning officers during election and they help to present fraudulent results… now those they installed finds nothing special about them especially since the D7 governors and men without certificates are president and law makers

MadamExcellency:
There is one report that came to the forefront why establishment of tertiary institutions were put on hold for five to seven years. In one of the Federal Universities in Northern Nigeria, we have 800 students and 1,200 University staff. Why should FG continue to fund this unproductive institution?

Profiliation of professorship should stop. Professors with nothing to add to the advancement of Nigeria not even a functional toothpick factory

Oga, the first paragragh i agree with but that second one is extremely off and stupid at best.
Professors are not toothpick factory establishers. If they go beyond their field and start combining amateurish input from complementary fields needed to establish inefficient factories, the endproducts suffers and is uncompetitive. They are researchers and "disseminators"of accumulated research outputs in form of knowledge.

Considering the cost of living, that’s a reasonable demand. The salary structure of lecturers is long overdue for a review.

floss:
I even propose they reduce their salaries to 100k… they’re the ones that act as returning officers during election and they help to present fraudulent results… now those they installed finds nothing special about them especially since the D7 governors and men without certificates are president and law makers

Lol. Say what?

Why are they fighting for themselves alone? They should advocate for the other levels in the academia. Prifessors are nothing without all the assistants!

seunmsg:
Considering the cost of living, that’s a reasonable demand. The salary structure of lecturers is long overdue for a review.

asides politicians, everyone deserves a pay rise and it is always the SME sector that wins this war of service cost hike. The professors think they are isolated until the SMEs and artisans respond. Can a farmer ignore a prof and his ogodomigodo(grammar)? Yes.
Can a professor ignore a farmer and his dirty output? I dare them to.

They should sit down, which of the problem confront in Nigeria have the solve using their research