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109 SENATORS’ PAY ENOUGH FOR 4,708 PROFESSORS’ SALARIES
About N2.354 billion in pay cheques, comprising the monthly salaries of the 109 senators and the cost of running their offices, is enough to pay monthly wages of 4,708 professors at universities across the country,
Debates have continued over the perceived imbalance in the remunerations of political office holders and academics.
Recently, the social media was awash with reports of Professor Nasir Hassan-Wagini of Umaru Musa Yar’adua University, Katsina, who was seen selling vegetables he produced at a market in Batsari as well as several other lecturers doing “side hustles”.
Depending on the years of professorship, a don receives an average of N500,000 as monthly net pay, as against the sum of N21.6 million pay cheque a serving senator receives.
On August 14, 2024, Senator Kawu Sumaila (Kano South) told the BBC Hausa Service that he got N21.6 million in salary and running costs every month. The amount is enough to pay the salary of about 43 senior professors.
“The amount of salary received per month is less than N1 million. If there are cuts, it comes back to about N600,000. In the senate, each senator is given N21 million every month as the cost of running his office,” he had said.
The senator spoke a day after the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) had claimed that each of the 109 senators in the National Assembly received a total of N1.06 million in salary and allowances per month.
The national president of the Congress of University Academics (CONUA), Dr Niyi Sunmonu, who is an associate professor at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, said academics were on the same salary scale since 2009 until last year when the federal government implemented a 35 percent pay raise for professors and 25 percent for non-professors.
He said, “Currently, the gross salary of a professor is about N700,000. After tax and other deductions, it comes down to around N500,000.”
He said it is difficult for professors to replace their faulty vehicles as their salary cannot afford them a N10 million/N15 million loan with a repayment plan of 24 months/30 months at cooperative societies on the campus.
He recalled that in the 1960s, after the Prime Minister and the Supreme Court judges, professors were the third-highest paid public servants in Nigeria, who, like politicians, received running costs as they were expected to have a driver, a house helper and at least an office clerk.
“So, in those years of yore that the academics were motivated by the take-home, there was motivation, which was then reflected in the quality of the graduates. These days that salaries have remained virtually stagnant for over 16 years, you see academics and professors who could not come to the office five times a week because the salary is not even enough to sustain their transportation to and fro.
“Some of them come around maybe once a week to attend to their classes, and you see it written all over them that these are not happy people. Unlike when I was an undergraduate, professors don’t come around to motivate and mentor students anymore. The remuneration is so poor that no one is motivated,” he said.
Sumonu urged the government to improve academics’ salaries and restore motivation.
“The current renegotiation the government is talking about is a little too late, but it is better late than never. Where we are today is top-heavy and bottom-low. The university that we see in this country today is a shadow of its old self. In the next five or 10 years, if something drastic is not done and all these professors retire, most universities in Nigeria will be buried,” he warned.
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What we’re doing to survive –Academics
In a recent viral video of the interview he granted in Hausa, Prof. Balarabe Abdullahi of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (ABU), said his salary was not enough to enroll his child in a standard school in Abuja.
According to him, only few young people now aspire to become lecturers, warning that if the authorities fail to urgently reform the system, the nation risks an intellectual drought.
He said more people go into politics because it offers dignity, a higher income and stability that academia cannot provide.
He said: “Our salaries are ‘chicken change’ (meagre). Professors, who are meant to be the custodians of knowledge and the drivers of national progress, are now living in near-poverty. I have colleagues who have confided in me, weeping, because they have gone three days without being able to cook a proper meal for their families.
“Imagine a professor at a Nigerian university resorting to selling groceries to make ends meet. It sounds absurd until you realise it is the daily reality for many of us. We have children. We have dependents. And yet, no professor in Nigeria earns enough to comfortably get through the month without hustling. That is why many of us are constantly on the move, desperately chasing extra income through visiting lecturing jobs.
“Even with a small family, we are often forced to settle for staff schools because we simply cannot afford the fees of decent private schools. If I were to show you my pay slip, you might be moved to tears. This is why Nigerian lecturers are migrating in droves to countries where their intellect and expertise are valued and rewarded. Many of us who choose to stay do so out of a sense of duty, cultural attachment, and hope for a better future for our country. But even that hope is wearing thin.”
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Dean, Faculty of Humanities, Abia State University, Uturu, Professor Samuel Agu, said he and some of his colleagues were exploring other means to augment their “meagre” pay.
“You have to do adjunctship in different universities or have some businesses to sustain yourself and your family and other social and communal obligations. I have been a professor for over eight years now. My salary used to be around N460,000. The state government introduced some taxes and it came down to about N390,000. With the so-called minimum wage, it is now around N490,000,” he said.
Asked if he gets other allowances, he said, “That is the total package. I don’t get any extra allowance.”
A former dean at the School of Management, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Imo State, Prof. Chukwudi Ibe, said: “Our remuneration is not taking us home. It stops us midway. Inflation has especially whittled it down. It’s pathetic. These are the light of society, but Nigeria does not see us as such. Our salary is within the range of N500,000 and we don’t get any allowances.”
Workload taking toll on our health –Lecturers
Lecturers said the departure of many of their colleagues for greener pastures abroad was making them battle with a heavy workload that was taking a toll on their mental health.
This, according to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), is further compounded by the economic hardship in the country, with several lecturers falling ill and even dying.
In February 2024, ASUU said it lost 46 members in its Abuja zone owing to economic hardship worsened by poor remuneration and unfavourable working conditions. The Abuja Zone comprises the University of Abuja; the Federal University of Technology, Minna, the Federal University, Lafia; the Nasarawa State University, Nasarawa and the Ibrahim Babangida University, Lapai.
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“In the last decade, more Nigerian academics are leaving the country in droves in search of greener pastures, thereby overworking the patriotic ones that remain in the system whose level of patriotism is dwindling on a daily basis due to poor remuneration and working conditions.
“It is also worthy of note that the union has lost several members during the period under review due to herculean working conditions, psychological and emotional stress, and diseases related to these conditions. For instance, universities in the Abuja zone have lost 46 members.
“In fact, just two days back, the union lost an eminent Professor of Fisheries, Johnson Oyero of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, due to the inability to afford quality medical facilities,” the zonal coordinator, ASUU, Abuja zone, Salahu Muhammed, had revealed.
Recently, crowdfunding of N13 million was launched for for the medical bill of Professor Abubakar Roko from the Department of Computer Science at Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), He eventually died after the donations, including a sum of N5m from Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf.
Reflecting on the plight of academics in a Facebook post, a Nigerian scholar based in Germany, Dr Mushin Ibrahim, blamed the situation on a dysfunctional system that gives less priority to academics and the education sector at large.
He wrote: “It has become monotonous to lament about the plight of Nigerian academics on social media. We had this same conversation a few weeks ago, shortly after the tragic story of Professor Abubakar Roko surfaced. May Allah forgive his shortcomings and look after his family, amin.
“Now, no one doubts the existence of the problem. Some people may argue that professors should do this or that to earn more than their salaries. But why can’t they get a decent payment? Isn’t that what every worker deserves?
“Politicians are awash with money. Their welfare, as well as that of their aides and others close to them, is non-negotiable. They not only earn substantial salaries but also receive allowances and other benefits during their tenure and even afterwards.”
It’s illogical paying politicians more than academics – Education rights group
Hassan Soweto, the national coordinator of the Education Rights Campaign, said it is “illogical” that politicians earn more than academics, particularly professors, describing it as a lopsided arrangement that would send a wrong signal to upcoming young scholars.
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He said: “The poor remuneration of university professors and academics across Nigeria is the first reality that any university undergraduate or prospective scholar encounters. When a person enters the university and sees that the living standard of his lecturers, whom he is meant to look up to, is so poor, it immediately produces a psychological reaction. It gives a very clear idea of how that person is likely going to end up if he chooses academia.
“Unlike what used to be the case in the post-colonial era, the current poor wage of university professors actually tells a different story. That is why it is not surprising that among the new generation now—a subculture that has become quite prominent— education is seen as just a means of satisfying the wishes of parents, while success is seen as something that is only possible through hustle, whether legitimate or otherwise.
“It is completely illogical that a senator earns more than a professor. In fact, for a society that wishes to excel and thrive, its politicians should not even earn more than a teacher, let alone a university professor, because politics is not a job. It ought not to be in the first instance. Politics ought to be something that people do to offer their service selflessly to their community, to their constituency, or to the nation.”
Soweto said for Nigeria to recalibrate its national development objective, “this anomaly” should be corrected, insisting that it is the only way the dignity of education can be restored.
“That is when young people can be proud of going to school, recognising that education is the only pathway to success. But right now, that is not the case, and that is because other engagements like politics, which is not supposed to be a profession, appear to be more profitable,” he added.
What obtains in other African countries
Nigeria is one of the five biggest economies, otherwise known as the “Big Five,” in Africa alongside South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, and Kenya. Checks by our correspondent showed that except in Nigeria, academics get very decent pay in other countries.
According to SalaryExpert, the average annual gross salary for a university professor in South Africa is R818,907 (N71.4 million), in addition to an average bonus of R28,089 (N2.4 million). While an entry-level university professor (1-3 years of experience) earns an average salary of R578,940 (N50.5 million) yearly, a senior-level university professor (8+ years of experience) earns an average salary of R1,025,119 (N89.4 million).
In Morocco, the average annual gross salary of a university professor is about MAD 300,290 (N50.8 million) aside from an average bonus of MAD 10,300 (N17.4m). An entry-level professor is paid an average salary of MAD 211,288 (N35.7m) yearly, while a senior-level professor earns an average salary of MAD 374,125 (63.3m).
The average gross monthly salary of a professor in Kenyan universities is estimated at 241,875 KES (N2.8 million). The lowest salary is said to be 125,866 KES (N1.4 million), while the highest monthly pay is 370,866 KES (4.3 million).
The average salary of a lecture in Niger Republic, according to World Salaries, a database of international average salaries, is 5,771,600 XOF per year (equivalent to N15,747,986). The lowest annual salary is put at 2,773,700 XOF (N7,568,124); while the highest pay per annum is estimated at 9,060,600 XOF (N24,722,122). It is, however, not stated whether the salary is gross or net.
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The website also showed that a university professor in Cameroon earns an average of 8,590,400 XAF (N23,602,723) per year. This can range from the lowest average salary of about 4,129,300 XAF (N11,345,539) to the highest average salary of 13,441,600 XAF (N36,931,733).
It stated that a lecturer working in Gambia will earn around 265,000 GMD (N5,602,622) per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 143,200 GMD (N3,027,530) to the highest average salary of 399,900 GMD (N8,454,674).
Honeymoon with gov’t over, says ASUU
ASUU President Prof. Chris Piwuna decried the failure of the federal government to honour most parts of the 2009 agreement it reached with the union. The agreement seeks university autonomy, adequate funding, payment of earned allowance, which was just recently paid, and improved staff welfare, among others.
“But since the agreement was signed, what was supposed to have been implemented progressively upon expected constant renegotiation has been left to gather dust,” Piwuna told DevReporting, an online newspaper.
“What we have in terms of remuneration, instead of reviewed salaries, is a wage award. Even with the wage awards of 25-35 percent, our members are owed more than 12 months now. And when they talk about the new minimum wage, what we receive is a N40,000 increment,” he added.
He said following the 25/35 percent increment, graduate assistants in public universities who used to earn between N90,000 and N95,000 now receive between N135,000 and N160,000, while a professor receives less than N500,000.
“So, I can tell you that our members are getting agitated; they are getting restless. If you look at our chat groups and all the universities, that is what our members are talking about, because it is becoming very unbearable for them to go to work, feed, pay school fees, and take care of their families. So, it has reached the point where we think that the honeymoon with the government is over. I repeat, the honeymoon with the government is over. This renegotiation is over,” he added.
A former Secretary General of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCNU), Professor Yakubu Ochefu, called for a national conference for holistic discussions on the nation’s higher education with a view to finding lasting solutions to critical problems bedevilling the sector.
“We need to look at it from a holistic perspective, talking about the salary from entry points and the general funding environment of the tertiary institutions, which is grossly inadequate. When you compare somebody who is coming in as a graduate assistant or an assistant lecturer with somebody who is joining the CBN and all other top government parastatals, you begin to see the gaps,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the Chief Press Secretary, National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, Emma Njoku, declined comment when asked on the telephone if the academics’ salaries were being reviewed.
He referred our correspondent to the chairman of the commission, Ekpo Nta. Subsequent calls to his mobile telephone line to know if his boss was around on the day our correspondent wanted to visit the commission’s office were unanswered. Also, calls to the chairman’s mobile telephone line was not answered and he had yet to respond to a text message sent to him as of the time of filing this report.
