“Jimoh further appeals to residents to remain calm, law-abiding, and not to take the law into their own hands. He enjoins them to cooperate fully with the police in the ongoing investigations.”
Meanwhile, the state chairman of NURTW, Mustapha Adekunle, popularly known as Sego has dissociated the union from the actions of Oladiti, stressing that the “NURTW does not condone violence or any unlawful activity.”
Adekunle, in a statement on Friday, noted that while he once trusted Oladiti’s loyalty, the incident had left him “bitter and disappointed.”
He urged security agencies to conduct a thorough and impartial probe, assuring that if found guilty, the suspect would also face the union’s internal disciplinary measures after the legal process is concluded.
“I urge law enforcement officers to carry out a thorough and impartial investigation to ensure justice is served.
“Once the legal process is complete, he will also face the union’s internal disciplinary procedures. As I have always stated, the NURTW does not condone violence or any unlawful acts,” Adekunle said.
He warned members of the union against any form of lawlessness, stressing that loyalty or closeness to him would not shield anyone from the consequences of being lawless.
He argued that the disregard for academics has crippled universities’ ability to attract quality staff, dampened morale, and reduced academic output.
Data on professors with less than 10 years on the professorial cadre in African public universities show that Nigerian lecturers rank among the worst paid on the continent, with professors earning an average of $366 (about N500,000) monthly.
While a Nigerian professor earns about $4,400 annually, a South African counterpart takes home $57,471, more than 13 times higher.
Uganda follows with $50,595 per annum, then Kenya with $48,000. Even countries with far smaller economies than Nigeria, such as Eswatini ($41,389), Lesotho ($32,455), and Gabon ($29,907), pay significantly better.
Shockingly, Nigeria also trails Sierra Leone ($18,000), Zambia ($14,949), and Comoros ($12,960), despite being Africa’s largest economy.
‘We survive on loans’
Speaking to Saturday PUNCH, several university professors painted grim pictures of their declining standard of living caused by poor remuneration.
They argued that by earning about N500,000 monthly, some of them are forced to squat in staff quarters, while others compete with students for seats on buses meant for undergraduates.
Prof. Adebowale Adejumo of the Department of Statistics, University of Ilorin, lamented that the situation was pushing many academics into crippling debts and multiple side jobs in order to survive.
He stressed that despite the 2009 agreement signed with the Federal Government, nothing had been implemented, leaving professors underpaid and demoralised.
Adejumo revealed that he had been forced to take multiple loans to pay his children’s school fees, as they all attend private universities due to incessant strikes in public institutions.
He said, “All my children are in private universities because of strikes. I have to do different jobs and take loans just to meet up. For almost a year now, I hardly drive my car to work because of the cost of fuel.
“Anytime I drive, I spend at least N10,000 on fuel just for that day. If I do that every day, how much is left for feeding and other expenses?”
Comparing Nigerian lecturers’ pay with that of their counterparts abroad, Adejumo described the disparity as “shameful.”
“When we convert what we earn to dollars, it is just about $320. In South Africa, colleagues like me earn $10,000 or $11,000 monthly. Even in Namibia, a friend of mine earns $7,000 during his sabbatical,” he added.
Another professor based in Enugu, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he did not want to be abused, said poor salaries had left many of his colleagues drowning in debt from unpaid loans.
He said, “The salary of professors in Nigeria cannot sustain me alone, let alone my wife and children,” he said.
“Lecturers, including myself, are now living on loans. If you go to my cooperative society, you will see how much I am owing; it runs into millions.
“The way people perceive professors outside is far from reality. Financially, we are struggling.”
He explained that salaries were often exhausted almost immediately upon receipt, leaving nothing for savings or investment.
“Once this meagre salary comes in, we distribute it within minutes and we are back to square one,” he said.
“At the moment, I am seriously struggling to even buy fuel of N10,000 for my car. It is a very pathetic situation, which I feel the Federal Government should quickly address,” he added.
Beyond his personal struggles, the professor warned that poor remuneration was discouraging younger Nigerians from pursuing careers in academia.
“I asked my children how many of them want to become lecturers, let alone professors. They all said no.
“This is dangerous for the future of education. If we that are in the business cannot have people to sustain it, then it calls for serious caution.”
The professor, who has held the rank for 11 years, reflected on the irony of being highly educated yet financially constrained.
“When I sit in family meetings with my siblings, I only contribute ideas. When it comes to finances, it is my younger brother who does the giving because he is better off.
“So, I ask myself, what then is the essence of becoming a professor? I am still battling debts and struggling to survive. It is rather unfortunate.”
He urged the Federal Government to act urgently to prevent a collapse of the academic system, warning that the present situation was no longer sustainable.
How to be a professor
According to Professor Iwu Hyacinth from Imo State, the journey to becoming a professor in Nigeria could take up to 30 years in service.
