By Fatima Boyi Mahuta
For how Long will the government and ASUU keep playing tag with the futures of Nigerian students? Lecturers in Nigeria’s public universities have again withdrawn their services. The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) began a nationwide warning strike on Monday, October 13, 2025, after the expiration of its 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government. The action is meant to push for the implementation of long-standing agreements and to demand better funding for universities.
This marks yet another chapter in the recurring disputes between ASUU and the FG. For students and parents, it feels like a replay of a familiar story. The 2022 strike lasted nearly eight months and left scars on the university system. Many had hoped that the lessons from that episode would prevent another shutdown, but the same challenges have resurfaced. In fact, research shows that since 1999, ASUU strikes have cumulatively amounted to approximately 4 years, underscoring a chronic crisis in Nigeria’s higher education system.
At the centre of ASUU’s grievances are unpaid allowances, withheld salaries from 2022, and the unfulfilled promises of the 2009 ASUU–FG agreement. The union also continues to reject the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), which it believes undermines university autonomy.
The Federal Government released 50 billion Naira for earned academic allowances. However, this only covered a small portion of ASUU’s total claims, which amount to about one hundred and three billion naira. The union had previously agreed to forfeit half of the amount if the remaining half would be paid and incorporated into salaries, but even that payment was delayed. From the 50 billion released, twenty percent was deducted to settle other university unions such as the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU). ASUU accepted the decision in good faith but maintained that the gesture did not address the larger issues.
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While the government often cites limited resources, its budgetary choices continue to raise questions. In the 2025 appropriation bill, 3.52 trillion naira was allocated to education, representing about 7.07 percent of total federal expenditure. Including state allocations, the figure rises to roughly 9.27 percent. These numbers still fall short of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) recommendation that developing countries should dedicate between 15 and 20 percent of their national budgets to education. The shortfall is evident in overcrowded classrooms, outdated facilities, and unpaid entitlements.
Education stands as number 6 among the eight Presidential Priority Areas under the Renewed Hope Agenda. The plan identifies human capital development and access to quality education as essential for national progress. Yet the persistent disruptions in universities show that this priority has not been fully reflected in action.
The recurring strikes raise a critical question about strategy and effectiveness. ASUU’s demands are legitimate, but the frequent resort to strikes has not produced lasting results. Each closure delays graduation, and lowers confidence in public universities. Over time, many students become demotivated. Some travel abroad in search of stability while others abandon their studies altogether, and the cycle weakens the system and wastes human potential.
The government’s own approach has also been reactive. The “no work, no pay” policy, for instance, may appear as a deterrent, but in reality it only deepens the resentment and widens the debt the government will eventually have to settle. Such measures postpone rather than solve the problem. Agreements are signed but rarely followed through. Committees are formed but their recommendations are often ignored. A consistent and transparent approach to negotiations could prevent these crises from repeating every few years. What both sides need now is a framework that ensures implementation, monitoring, and accountability. Without such a system, every resolution becomes another temporary truce.
Beyond the immediate dispute, the larger issue is the future of higher education in Nigeria. Universities are not just learning spaces but engines of national development. When they are constantly disrupted, the country loses valuable time, talent, and trust. For a government that has placed education within its Renewed Hope Agenda, allowing this cycle to continue sends a conflicting message.
Hope cannot thrive where learning stops. If this administration truly intends to renew hope, it must begin with policies that keep universities open and productive. Funding, autonomy, and respect for agreements should not depend on repeated strikes before they are addressed.
ASUU too must reconsider how best to engage the system it seeks to improve. Dialogue and reform may be slower paths, but they can achieve more lasting results than constant shutdowns. The union’s strength lies not only in its ability to withdraw labour but also in its capacity to propose solutions that make the system work better for everyone.
The current situation presents both a warning and an opportunity. Nigeria can either continue repeating the same mistakes or finally create a sustainable model for managing university education. The choice will determine whether the phrase “Renewed Hope” becomes a living reality or remains another political slogan.
If there is to be renewed hope, it must begin with renewed commitment, one that keeps classrooms open, lecturers motivated, and students learning without interruption and jobs to secure their future. That is the only way to build a life that matches the promise of the nation’s words.
