The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has given a new update on its ongoing negotiations with the Federal Government (FG), as tension mounts over the union’s one-month deadline for the government to address key unresolved issues or face an indefinite strike.
ASUU President, Prof. Christopher Piwuna, disclosed that talks with the government are still in progress but nearing a decisive stage. He made the remarks during “A Conversation with ASUU President,” a live online interview hosted by renowned scholar Prof. Toyin Falola on Sunday night. The virtual event attracted over 1.2 million viewers from 27 countries and featured a distinguished panel including NLC President Joe Ajaero, Prof. Sheriffdeen Tella, Prof. Francis Egbokhare, and Mrs. Grace Edema of The Punch.
According to Piwuna, ASUU’s National Executive Council is finalizing deliberations in Taraba State, and a clearer position should emerge in the coming weeks.
“We hope that in the next week or two, we’ll be able to make a definitive statement. But what is very clear is that what the government is offering us as salary is not acceptable, and we are prepared to go any length to secure fair compensation,” he said.
Piwuna criticized the current state of Nigeria’s public university system, describing it as “operating like a 17th-century institution.” He lamented that poor salaries, lack of infrastructure, and absence of endowments have continued to cripple academic progress.
“Our colleagues work tirelessly, often sleeping in their offices to meet research demands, yet they cannot secure the resources needed to advance our institutions,” he added.
The ASUU leader also decried the government’s neglect of public education, pointing out that many wealthy Nigerians prefer to invest in private universities rather than support public ones. He emphasized that the union’s previous achievements resulted from persistent struggle rather than government goodwill.
Highlighting why successive governments have failed to address ASUU’s concerns, Piwuna blamed a lack of collective responsibility among government officials.
“When ASUU declares a strike, the Minister of Finance believes it’s the Education Minister’s problem, while others see it as unrelated to their duties. If they understood that education underpins national development, they would act differently,” he stated.
He also identified ideological and self-interest issues as barriers to progress.
“We see education as a public good vital for national growth, but many in government view it only through a profit lens. This is why public universities continue to suffer while private institutions thrive,” Piwuna explained.
Earlier, Prof. Toyin Falola, the Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities at the University of Texas at Austin, said the dialogue aimed to seek lasting solutions to the recurring crises in Nigeria’s and Africa’s public university systems.
He emphasized that the continent’s education challenges are interconnected and require collective reform efforts to ensure sustainable academic and national development.
