By Dr Umar Osabo
In recent weeks, a Hausa-language interview granted by a professor from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, caught national attention. In it, the professor lamented the sorry state of Nigerian academics.
It struck a nerve. Shared widely across social media platforms, the interview reawakened a long-standing debate over the wages and welfare of Nigerian university lecturers—particularly professors.
The lament is not new, but the situation has grown more dire. A professor who earned ₦450,000 in 2009—when the exchange rate was ₦ *140* to the dollar—now takes home just about *₦500,000* in 2025, when the dollar is trading at over *₦1,600* . The real value of academic salaries has eroded by over *80 percent* , while inflation, rising costs, and worsening national poverty leave scholars struggling for daily survival.
It would have been bad enough if this economic deterioration happened gradually. But what we see now is a policy-induced *abandonment of* *Nigeria’s intellectual* class. The state has failed to act, the people now mock their lecturers, and the very profession that once produced Africa’s finest minds is being reduced to a footnote in the national conversation.
*Professors as Victims of Neglect*
In a decent society, professors are among the best treated. They are researchers, inventors, mentors, and critical thinkers. They guide national development and hold the lamp of knowledge in times of confusion. But in Nigeria today, they are increasingly seen as *failed professionals* who should “ *get a* *side hustle* ” to stay afloat.
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It has reached a point where university lecturers are being told to farm, drive cabs, or become political aides. Some even suggest they venture into petty trading. What they are not told is how to continue their research, write papers, supervise theses, or build knowledge economies while chasing daily bread.
‘ *Side Hustle’ as Academic Policy*
This neglect is already taking its toll. One young lecturer openly admitted that after the prolonged ASUU strike in 2022 and the withheld salaries, he resolved to only give the university “ *the time it* *deserves* ”—just lectures and the bare minimum. The rest of his time goes to farming, which pays his bills.
Another forgot he had a scheduled class and told a colleague over the phone that he was on his farm planting. He would “ *see the students next week,”* he said.
This is not indiscipline—it is despair.
Professors and young academics alike are simply adapting to a country that has told them, in every way possible, that their work is not valuable. They are now attending to lectures like secondary duties while focusing on survival. Mentorship has suffered. Research has declined. Academic excellence is fading.
*The Government’s Long Silence*
The 2009 agreement between the Federal Government and ASUU, which was meant to be reviewed every three years, has remained untouched. Even the *Yayale Ahmed-led* renegotiation committee, which submitted its report in late 2024, has not been acknowledged officially by the *Tinubu administration* .
This is the same government that sends these same professors to countries like Uganda and Rwanda under the Technical Aid Corps (TAC) scheme, where they are paid *$2,000 monthly* . Yet, back home, they earn the equivalent of *less than $350* .
How does a government justify such contradictions? How is it that a Nigerian professor is worth more in Kampala than in Kano? Isn’t this hypocrisy at its peak?
*Brain Drain and Its Consequences*
Across Africa, Nigerian-trained academics are now leading institutions in Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and even Malawi. Some of our brightest minds have quietly relocated to teach abroad where they are better paid and respected. Meanwhile, many departments in Nigerian universities are struggling to replace retiring professors. Young scholars are not interested in replacing them—not with current conditions.
This trend is a ticking time bomb. If it continues, Nigeria will soon have a university system run by contract retirees, part-time lecturers, and underpaid assistants with little time or energy for innovation.
Already, the country’s *contribution to global research is shrinking* . We produce less than 0.2% of the world’s published academic work, despite being home to the largest concentration of black scholars in the world.
*What Needs to Change*
The question now is: how do we reverse this collapse?
*Five immediate steps are necessary:*
1. Implement realistic pay: No professor should earn less than ₦1.5 million monthly in today’s economic reality. The current wages are unlivable and disrespectful.
2. Autonomy in university governance: Allow universities to set competitive salaries based on performance, research grants, and output.
3. Prioritise research funding: Nigeria must invest deliberately in research, particularly in science, agriculture, climate, and artificial intelligence.
4. Restore the dignity of the gown: Our professors should be publicly celebrated, not mocked. We must promote academic success the same way we promote entertainment and politics.
5. Renegotiate and implement past agreements: The 2009 agreement and the 2024 report should not gather dust. Delay in implementation is sabotage by bureaucracy.
*Conclusion*
We must not forget that those who teach society must also be sustained by it. A *country that treats its* *thinkers as hustlers* and labourers should not expect *innovation, national* transformation, or moral leadership from its universities.
It is no surprise that young lecturers now spend more time on farms than in classrooms, and that professors eagerly take political appointments to escape hunger. The country is slowly *bleeding its intellect* , and the consequences will be national.
A hungry mind cannot innovate. A disrespected teacher cannot inspire. If this trajectory continues, we will not only lose the minds—we will lose the nation.
Dr Umar Osabo is a writer and policy, political, economic and Diplomatic analyst. He can be reached at umarmosabo@gmail.com
