₦airaland Forum

University lecturers in the country are once again poised for a showdown with the government over a number of welfare issues, chief among which is their salary structure that they want enhanced.

While there are three registered academic staff unions in the university system in the country, namely the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, the Congress of University Academics, CONUA, and the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria, MDCAN, they are all of the view that their take home pay is grossly inadequate.

Last week, a new minimum wage was announced by the Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, which guarantees a monthly salary of N104, 000 to the least paid government employee.

Lecturers in the state-owned universities are also beneficiaries.

With the new salaries announced by Uzodimma, lecturers in Imo State owned university appear to be the highest paid in the country.

Whereas professors in federal universities earn N633, 333 per month, their Imo University counterparts take home pay is now N812, 000, thanks to the Uzodimma gesture.

But by contrast, Nigeria’s elected public office holders, especially lawmakers, earn by far more than university professors who educate and train the next generation, a situation which many have described as absurd.

Whereas the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Committee (RMAFC) puts senators pay at around N1 million per month, there is a claim that each of them, for instance, earns up to N21 million.

Meanwhile, the N21 million claim could not be confirmed by Sunday Vanguard at press time as lawmakers take home pay, when you add all the emoluments, is a closely guarded secret.

But, in a 2024 interview, Senator Shehu Sani, who served in the eighth Senate, said that as a member of the Upper Chamber, he earned N13 million monthly, adding that the take home pay for members of the current 10th Senate had since gone up to N21 million.

Sani said that the RMAFC was being economical with the truth by saying senators earn just a little over N1 million per month.

He said on a Channels TV programme, “I was a senator and I believe I had correct knowledge about what actually happened at that time and I believe is what is happening now.

“Well, RMAFC was just playing with figures, they were specific in saying this is the salary of senators and then they went on to give a breakdown of N20 million which they said was what every senator earn in four years.

“But I think they are being economical with the truth and I think I understand their fears in terms of telling the truth when they know what is actually happening.

“Before I came to this interview, I was going through the papers and I saw a statement credited to one of the senators from Kano, Distinguished Senator Kawu Ismaila, who confirmed what I said about senators particularly of this set receiving up to N21 million monthly.

“During my time, I was in the Senate and I was pricked by my conscience as an activist who went to the Senate to unveil what has been made secret for over two decades.

“I believe that taxpayers and Nigerians in general have the right to know how much their legislators are earning and how much they are actually being given.

“I went on as a serving senator then to disclose what I received monthly, what is credited into my account at that time and it was 13.5 million.”

The former lawmaker said he did not believe there was any need to deceive Nigerians or cover up anything.

He said that since legislators receive public money, it is necessary for those involved to come out and say it as it is like he did.

And there is an effort ongoing to raise the salaries of public office holders in Nigeria, including that of senators.

Governor Francis Nwifiru has also just raised the minimum wage in Ebonyi State to N90,000 from the national rate of N70,000.

Nigerians react
Apart from lecturers themselves, Nigerians, from all walks of life, have been reacting to the salary structure university lecturers are subjected to.

Many wonder what the salaries of non-academic staff would be if academic ones are earning peanuts.

The Founder of Concerned Parents and Educators Network, CPE, Mrs Yinka Ogunde, on one of the social media handles of the group, wrote, “I owe all lecturers an apology. I never knew a Prof earns less than 600k, less than a local govt councillor. We need an Education rethink.”

The post elicited various responses with some comparing what lecturers and public servants earn with what political office holders earn.

A commentator wrote, “Nigerian professors in Nigerian public universities earn about N600, 000 per month at the peak of their careers. They earn some bogus monies too when they head departments or champion some research funded by foreign organisations. They have money; don’t be deceived. But here is a surprise.

The Federal Government said that Nigerian senators earn just N1, 000, 000, with some allowances which was less than N10 million.

“But senators themselves said they earn N14, 000, 000 (N14 million) per month.

“Here is the first kicker.

“It will take a person about 10 years from 100 Level to become a PhD holder. In fact, holding a PhD does not make a person a professor. It makes them a doctorate degree holder.

“The person must have written several peer-reviewed journals, headed some research works at their own expense, and gained years of teaching experience. Yet, they earn. N633, 333 per month.
“What does it take to become a Nigerian senator?

“The second kicker. WAEC results!

“SS.3 WAEC, either F9 parallel or whatever is enough. Just complete SS3, and a person has fulfilled the academic requirement to become a senator.

“Some group of elders expect someone who want to reach the pinnacle of academics in Nigeria to complete three academic milestones after senior secondary school, yet people who will rule a whole country including over 11, 000 professors are expected to have just WAEC/NECO results. “And they are paid higher! Is it that this is a Nigerian problem, that we really do not value education like that?

“The third kicker…

“Who is called upon by these WAEC result holders to rig elections? No be me talk am o.
We can do better.

“People who will lead a country need to be educated.”

In his opinion, Ayobami Adeyinka noted that what students pay as fees are related to what their teachers earn.

“How much were you expecting a Prof to earn when school fee is N75, 000 per session? These things are connected and interwoven.

The UK scenario
“In the UK where the average take home for a Prof is £80, 000 per annum, the average student fee is around £9,500
“In the UK, it costs an average of £125,000 to train one Medical Doctor.

“Please note that fees are financed in the UK through education loans.

“The point here is to point out the interrelatedness of students’ fees and earnings by Academics.
“In Nigeria, to bring about some semblance of progress, we need to tweak the current funding structure to provide a semblance of cost recovery.

“We live in the illusion of being a rich country by our dependence on crude oil, but the facts don’t support the assumption.

“It is simply about logics and economics.”

Salary relatively stagnant since 2009 — CONUA
Commenting on the development, the National President of CONUA, Dr Niyi Sunmonu, said salaries of university lecturers and other workers in the university system have been relatively stagnant since 2009.

“Salary has remained stagnant since 2009 and there have been some attempts to raise it, but what they have been doing is mere tokenism”, he said.

sreamsense:
It is not by force to work for government, they should vacate universities and go out to hustle to give room to those that are even ready to collect N200000. There are professors outside schools hustling for their monies, they should go to the streets or politics where they think with there is money. Employer can not make you rich, they can only give you money to feed your family. If you want to become rich, go out there and hustle for your money. Even if they are paid N5000000 a month, In two years, they will still come back to say they need more. There are many professors, PhD outside academic environment who are employers of labour.

If the two Google guy founders that have up to PhD in Computer engineering and the other in Computer science with parent professorship background also ended up lecturing, they will not help ending up as one of the biggest employers of labour worldwide today . Is not too long salary increase was done, and if government yield again now. NASU,SANU and many others will also come again to ask for increment. If you think you are eyeing UK money, find your way to UK to look for teaching job or take to odd jobs for survival. When you know where the money is, then use your leg to go there now, and let those that are even ready to collect N100000 enter

Dvdpity:
Professors in the Nigerian university take home pay is not up to 600,000 it's around 450-534 thousand per month. Not enough to take care of transportation and fueling of vehicle, talkless of feeding the family, clothing the family, paying house rent, funding research, publishing manuscripts in reputable international journals, helping extended family members who look up for help and finally, paying medical bills, most of these professors and Nigerian lecturers are heavily suffering from different medical illnesses. Most coming from years of exposure to chemicals and others Hazard in supervising undergraduate, postgraduate and personal researches.

It's very terrible to be a lecturer in Nigeria now.

sreamsense:
It is not by force to work for government, they should vacate universities and go out to hustle to give room to those that are even ready to collect N200000. There are professors outside schools hustling for their monies, they should go to the streets or politics where they think with there is money. Employer can not make you rich, they can only give you money to feed your family. If you want to become rich, go out there and hustle for your money. Even if they are paid N5000000 a month, In two years, they will still come back to say they need more. There are many professors, PhD outside academic environment who are employers of labour.

If the two Google guy founders that have up to PhD in Computer engineering and the other in Computer science with parent professorship background also ended up lecturing, they will not help ending up as one of the biggest employers of labour worldwide today . Is not too long salary increase was done, and if government yield again now. NASU,SANU and many others will also come again to ask for increment. If you think you are eyeing UK money, find your way to UK to look for teaching job or take to odd jobs for survival. When you know where the money is, then use your leg to go there now, and let those that are even ready

to collect N100000 enter

sreamsense:
It is not by force to work for government, they should vacate universities and go out to hustle to give room to those that are even ready to collect N200000. There are professors outside schools hustling for their monies, they should go to the streets or politics where they think with there is money. Employer can not make you rich, they can only give you money to feed your family. If you want to become rich, go out there and hustle for your money. Even if they are paid N5000000 a month, In two years, they will still come back to say they need more. There are many professors, PhD outside academic environment who are employers of labour.

If the two Google guy founders that have up to PhD in Computer engineering and the other in Computer science with parent professorship background also ended up lecturing, they will not help ending up as one of the biggest employers of labour worldwide today . Is not too long salary increase was done, and if government yield again now. NASU,SANU and many others will also come again to ask for increment. If you think you are eyeing UK money, find your way to UK to look for teaching job or take to odd jobs for survival. When you know where the money is, then use your leg to go there now, and let those that are even ready to collect N100000 enter

sreamsense:
It is not by force to work for government, they should vacate universities and go out to hustle to give room to those that are even ready to collect N200000. There are professors outside schools hustling for their monies, they should go to the streets or politics where they think with there is money. Employer can not make you rich, they can only give you money to feed your family. If you want to become rich, go out there and hustle for your money. Even if they are paid N5000000 a month, In two years, they will still come back to say they need more. There are many professors, PhD outside academic environment who are employers of labour.

If the two Google guy founders that have up to PhD in Computer engineering and the other in Computer science with parent professorship background also ended up lecturing, they will not help ending up as one of the biggest employers of labour worldwide today . Is not too long salary increase was done, and if government yield again now. NASU,SANU and many others will also come again to ask for increment. If you think you are eyeing UK money, find your way to UK to look for teaching job or take to odd jobs for survival. When you know where the money is, then use your leg to go there now, and let those that are even ready to collect N100000 enter

sreamsense:
It is not by force to work for government, they should vacate universities and go out to hustle to give room to those that are even ready to collect N200000. There are professors outside schools hustling for their monies, they should go to the streets or politics where they think with there is money. Employer can not make you rich, they can only give you money to feed your family. If you want to become rich, go out there and hustle for your money. Even if they are paid N5000000 a month, In two years, they will still come back to say they need more. There are many professors, PhD outside academic environment who are employers of labour.

If the two Google guy founders that have up to PhD in Computer engineering and the other in Computer science with parent professorship background also ended up lecturing, they will not help ending up as one of the biggest employers of labour worldwide today . Is not too long salary increase was done, and if government yield again now. NASU,SANU and many others will also come again to ask for increment. If you think you are eyeing UK money, find your way to UK to look for teaching job or take to odd jobs for survival. When you know where the money is, then use your leg to go there now, and let those that are even ready to collect N100000 enter

fuckJones:
(A case study of Nigeria citizens & their elected oppressors).

During the Soviet dictatorship of Joseph stalin. He was a brutal dictator with mind of his own. On one fateful day, stalin came to Politburo meeting with a live chicken. Standing in front of audience, He started to pluck the feathers of the live chicken off one by one. The chicken trembled in pain, blood tricking out of its pores. It gave out grievous cries, but stalin being a cruel dictator continued without remorse plucking the feathers out until the chicken was completely Unclad. After which, he threw the chicken on the ground. The Unclad chicken was staggering in pain. stalin goes into his pocket and from his pockets, he took out some chicken food and started to throw it at the poor & hapless creature. The poor chicken in pain started eating and stalin started walking towards his seat. As he walked away, he kept dropping some feeds on the floor & the chicken followed him and sat feeding from his feet.

Joseph stalin then turned to members of his political party leadership. He said, "This chicken represents the people". "You must disempower them, brutalise them, beat them up, starve them and then leave them". "If you do this, go into your pocket & give them peanuts when they are in that helpless and desperate situation, they will blindly follow you for the rest of their life, worshiping you". "They will think you are a hero forever. They will forget that, you're responsible for their sorrowful situation in the first place." Breath taking, isn't it ?

Now! Take a look at all the people some Nigerians are busy defending on social media. Take a look at those they call their heroes. They are the same people who plunged Nigeria into the situation she is. They are the same people who are responsible for their predicaments. Did you see the numbers of people that throng to Saraki's House during this Sallah period to go collect peanuts? People trooping to Bola Ahmed Tinubu Foundation offices to collect branded One kilo bag of Rice & Noddles. Did you see the number of people of all ages who troop out to welcome Ex- convict James Ibori to South South! Do you see the number of handle mop following obi as if he is a seat? what of the one following dino malaye?

Your guess is as good as mine. Nigerians kill those they should defend and defend those they should kill! Pass to all your contacts & let your Political & Religion Leaders read, understand & digest.

Hedonisco:
Nigerian senators are more useful than Nigerian professors. And that's even 'under-gerrating' it.

These overentitled, unproductive pieces of poo should go and rest.