A staggering N2.354 billion, covering the monthly salaries and office running costs of Nigeria’s 109 senators, could pay the monthly wages of 4,708 university professors, Daily Trust reports, reigniting debates over the stark imbalance between the remuneration of political officeholders and academics in Nigeria. The disparity, coupled with viral reports of professors resorting to side hustles like selling vegetables, has fueled public outcry and calls for urgent reform in the education sector.
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On August 14, 2024, Senator Kawu Sumaila (Kano South) revealed to BBC Hausa Service that each senator receives approximately N21.6 million monthly, comprising a base salary of less than N1 million (often reduced to N600,000 after deductions) and N20.6 million for office running costs. This contrasts sharply with the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) claim that senators receive N1.06 million monthly in salary and allowances. The N21.6 million figure, sufficient to pay about 43 senior professors at an average net salary of N500,000, has drawn significant attention.
In contrast, university professors, depending on their years of service, earn around N700,000 gross monthly, reduced to approximately N500,000 after taxes and deductions, according to Dr. Niyi Sunmonu, national president of the Congress of University Academics (CONUA) and an associate professor at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. Sunmonu noted that academic salaries have remained largely stagnant since 2009, with only a recent 35% pay raise for professors and 25% for non-professors implemented last year. “It is difficult for professors to replace their faulty vehicles as their salary cannot afford them a N10 million/N15 million loan,” he said, highlighting the financial strain.
The dire financial situation of academics has led many to take up side hustles to survive. A viral video of Professor Nasir Hassan-Wagini from Umaru Musa Yar’adua University, Katsina, selling vegetables at a market in Batsari underscored the crisis. Similarly, Professor Balarabe Abdullahi of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, told Daily Trust that his salary cannot cover enrolling his child in a standard Abuja school. “Our salaries are ‘chicken change’ (meagre). Professors, who are meant to be the custodians of knowledge, are now living in near-poverty,” he said, noting colleagues who have gone days without proper meals.
Professor Samuel Agu, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at Abia State University, Uturu, reported a net salary of N490,000 after taxes, with no additional allowances. “You have to do adjunctship in different universities or have some businesses to sustain yourself,” he said. Professor Chukwudi Ibe, a former dean at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, echoed this, stating, “Our remuneration is not taking us home. Inflation has especially whittled it down.”
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) highlighted the toll of heavy workloads due to lecturer shortages, with 46 members in its Abuja zone dying in 2024 from economic hardship, stress, and poor working conditions. The recent death of Professor Johnson Oyero of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, and a N13 million crowdfunding effort for Professor Abubakar Roko of Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, who passed away despite donations, further illustrate the crisis.
Sunmonu recalled that in the 1960s, professors were the third-highest-paid public servants in Nigeria, receiving running costs akin to politicians. “There was motivation, which was then reflected in the quality of graduates,” he said. Today, stagnant salaries have left academics unable to afford regular transportation to campus, reducing mentorship and student engagement. “Professors don’t come around to motivate and mentor students anymore,” he lamented, warning that the retirement of current professors could cripple universities within a decade.
Hassan Soweto, national coordinator of the Education Rights Campaign, called the wage disparity “illogical,” arguing that politicians should not earn more than academics, as politics should be a selfless service, not a profession. “The poor remuneration of university professors tells a different story,” he said, noting that it discourages young people from pursuing academia and promotes a culture where education is undervalued compared to “hustle.”
Compared to other African economies, Nigeria’s academic salaries lag significantly. In South Africa, professors earn an average of R818,907 (N71.4 million) annually, with senior professors earning up to R1,025,119 (N89.4 million). In Morocco, professors average MAD 300,290 (N50.8 million) yearly, while in Kenya, monthly salaries range from 125,866 KES (N1.4 million) to 370,866 KES (N4.3 million). In Cameroon, professors earn an average of 8,590,400 XAF (N23.6 million) annually, and in Niger Republic, lecturers average 5,771,600 XOF (N15.7 million). These figures highlight Nigeria’s underinvestment in academia relative to its economic peers.
ASUU President Professor Chris Piwuna decried the government’s failure to honor the 2009 agreement on university autonomy, funding, and staff welfare. “What we have in terms of remuneration, instead of reviewed salaries, is a wage award,” he told DevReporting. A 25-35% increment raised graduate assistants’ salaries to N135,000-N160,000 and professors to under N500,000, but members are owed over 12 months of arrears. “The honeymoon with the government is over,” Piwuna declared, signaling growing unrest.
Professor Yakubu Ochefu, former Secretary General of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, called for a national conference to address higher education’s funding and salary gaps, noting disparities between academic pay and that of employees at agencies like the Central Bank of Nigeria. The National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, contacted by Daily Trust, declined to comment on salary reviews, with Chairman Ekpo Nta unresponsive to inquiries.
Experts warn that without urgent reform, Nigeria risks an intellectual drought as academics migrate abroad. “Many of us who stay do so out of a sense of duty, but even that hope is wearing thin,” Abdullahi said. Soweto emphasized that restoring the dignity of education requires prioritizing academic pay to inspire future scholars and recalibrate national development.
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