A New Lease of Life in Tertiary Education

By Nzekwu David

For years, Nigeria’s university system has operated in a stop–start rhythm, disrupting academic progress and eroding trust in the education system. In societies invested in their future, such instability would not be tolerated. Students now regard academic calendars as optional guides; parents budget without certainty about duration or final costs. Lecturers work in settings where striving for excellence feels futile. The nation has quietly accepted industrial unrest in universities, treating it like seasonal harmattan—something inevitable to endure, rather than a challenge to resolve.

That is why the Federal Government’s newly unveiled agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), announced in mid-January 2026 by the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, feels like more than another communiqué. It reads like an attempt to reset a damaged relationship between the Nigerian state and the very people tasked with producing its doctors, engineers, teachers, and researchers—those who turn national ambition into trained capacity.

At the heart of the deal is a 40% upward review of academic emoluments, approved by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, to begin on January 1, 2026. In Nigeria, this move is more than a pay rise; it acknowledges that the welfare of academics matters now, not at some future, uncertain economic improvement. Salary stagnation and poor conditions push top scholars abroad, where knowledge is valued. Therefore, a welfare review directly counters brain drain and aims to make staying in Nigeria a competitive choice for academics.

But the agreement’s real sophistication is that it does not reduce the crisis to salary alone. The revised structure incorporates an enhanced Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA), designed to support the practical tools of scholarship—research and publications, conference participation, internet access, professional memberships, and book development. This matters because a lecturer without research support is like a surgeon without instruments: present, trained, and still constrained. If CATA is transparently administered, it restores the dignity of academic labour by funding the quiet, expensive work that keeps universities globally relevant—producing new knowledge rather than merely recycling old notes.

The Professorial Cadre Allowance explicitly recognises senior scholarship and the additional institutional responsibilities of professors and readers. Public reports indicate a monthly top-up of about N140,000 for professors (N1.7–N1.8 million yearly) and N70,000 for readers (N840,000 yearly). Culturally, within the academy, this conveys the essential message that excellence and long service should be rewarded. Senior academics who supervise postgraduates, lead research, and manage governance deserve recognition and incentives—not just for their roles, but also for sustaining academic standards and institutional leadership.

Equally noteworthy is the restructuring of nine Earned Academic Allowances. The new framework requires transparent earning, strictly tied to duties such as postgraduate supervision, fieldwork, clinical work, exams, moderation, and related tasks. In a country where distrust fills policy gaps, this design directly ties pay to academic work. This link aims to boost productivity, fairness, and reduce grievances. If managed well, it will strengthen accountability and make negotiations less contentious.

The wider significance of this moment is historical: several reports describe the deal as finally resolving the protracted renegotiation of the 2009 FG–ASUU agreement—a process stretching across multiple committees and administrations. The extended delay highlights how Nigeria too often neglects its crucial institutions. Nonetheless, the agreement shows that entrenched disputes can be resolved when dialogue replaces posturing, and both parties recognise that young people bear the consequences of deadlock.

Still, no agreement—however promising—implements itself. The real test of this renewed commitment will come in everyday actions: proper payroll processes, timely circulars, budget releases, and decisions by university administrations. Even ASUU’s leadership has expressed cautious optimism, noting that consistent implementation could lessen the frequency of strikes. Such caution is appropriate. Nigeria has a history of unfulfilled agreements. What sets this effort apart must be consistency: delivering promised payments, funding planned initiatives, and recognising universities as vital infrastructure, not recurring emergencies.

If the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda is to mean more than branding, it must prove its seriousness here, specifically by defending stability in the academic calendar, restoring dignity to the lecture room, and rebuilding confidence that Nigerian universities can once again be centres of excellence rather than theatres of disruption. The nation needs not just graduates, but a university system that works—predictably, competitively, and continuously. If honoured in full, this agreement could pivot Nigeria from chronic educational turbulence toward renewal.

•Dr David Nzekwu is a public affairs analyst and writes from Abuja.