Why ASUU Must Reject the Greek Gift of Government Loan and Demand a Living Wage

By Professor Emmanuel Onwioduokit

There comes a moment in the history of every profession when it must collectively decide whether to accept a tempting—but ultimately dangerous—offer, or stand firmly on the path of dignity and long-term survival. The recently announced “interest-free” loan scheme of up to ₦10 million for university workers, repayable over five years, belongs squarely in that category. On the surface, it appears generous. But beneath the surface lies a carefully crafted strategy designed to shift attention away from the real issues and to entrench academic staff in a new cycle of indebtedness and perpetual socio-economic vulnerability.

Let us be clear: a loan is not, and can never be, a substitute for a living wage. Nigerian academics are not seeking charity or relief packages; they are demanding rightful compensation for the critical role they play in shaping the nation’s intellectual capital and in the development of our human resources. What university lecturers, especially professors, require is a salary structure that enables them to live and work with dignity, independence, and intellectual freedom. No nation that truly values development forces its best minds to borrow in order to survive.

It is important to recall that this is the same government that has refused to implement the 2009 ASUU-FG agreement—a freely negotiated document that provided a pathway to improved remuneration, revitalisation of the university system, and strengthening of academic infrastructure. Fifteen years after that agreement, not only has it remained unsigned and unimplemented, the real value of academics’ salaries has collapsed. In the face of that reality, offering loans is not a gesture of goodwill. It is a diversionary tactic.

Simple arithmetic exposes the real danger behind the loan offer. A professor currently earns about ₦580,000 net per month. If such a person takes a ₦10 million loan with a five-year repayment period, they will be repaying approximately ₦166,667 every month. This means almost 30% of that already inadequate salary disappears immediately in debt obligations. What is left barely covers basic living costs. At the same time, inflation continues to erode purchasing power and the naira steadily loses value. In other words, the loan becomes a trap—an institutionalised arrangement to keep academics indebted, disempowered, and too financially constrained to speak out.

Moreover, university academics are not regular civil servants. A professor is not comparable to a Director in the public service. The academic role involves teaching, supervising, conducting scientific research, publishing in internationally peer-reviewed journals, developing patents, mentoring doctoral students, and serving society through policy advice and community engagement. These unique responsibilities are the foundation for the knowledge economy and for shaping new generations of professionals. In every serious country, academics are placed on a separate salary structure that reflects this high level of responsibility.

The Nigerian government already understands this principle in one area—the judiciary. Judges enjoy a special salary scale and are insulated, as much as possible, from market vagaries in order to guarantee their independence. By the same logic, academics—who are custodians of the nation’s intellectual, scientific and cultural sovereignty—deserve the same kind of institutional protection. Their independence, too, must be guaranteed, and financial stability is a precondition for intellectual independence.

The so-called interest-free loan, therefore, is not a benevolent gesture. It is a deliberate strategy to pacify and weaken the university system by turning lecturers into debtors. It removes the pressure on government to honour its agreements. It also seeks to make collective action more difficult, because heavily indebted individuals are more easily controlled. The end result will be not only the impoverishment of academics, but the further deterioration of the Nigerian university system.

For these reasons, ASUU must unequivocally reject the loan arrangement. What is required is a living wage, on a special salary scale, that is regularly adjusted in line with inflation and consistent with the critical role played by academics in national development. ASUU must insist on nothing less than full renegotiation and implementation of the 2009 agreement, and the establishment of a remuneration framework that protects and enhances the intellectual capacity of the country.

No professor should be compelled to borrow from the same government that has failed to honour its commitments. What is required is justice, not generosity; respect, not relief. A loan may quieten voices temporarily, but only a living wage will restore pride and productivity to the Nigerian academic.