UNIMAID lecturers protest ₦150,000 retirement benefit, condemn Buhari renaming, and threaten strike over neglect of academics.
After the one-hour demonstration on campus, UNIMAID ASUU Chairman, Dr. Abubakar Mshelia, condemned the package, stressing that a country that treats its intellectuals with such neglect cannot hope to achieve meaningful development.
The Nigerian universities lecturers under the umbrella of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Maiduguri chapter, on Tuesday staged a protest against what it described as the “shameful” N150,000 retirement benefit for professors and other academic staff.
After the one-hour demonstration on campus, UNIMAID ASUU Chairman, Dr. Abubakar Mshelia, condemned the package, stressing that a country that treats its intellectuals with such neglect cannot hope to achieve meaningful development.
“Professors who have dedicated over four decades to educating generations retire on a meagre N150,000 under the contributory pension scheme, while inflation exceeds 21 per cent,” The PUNCH quoted Mshelia as saying.
He continued: “This is not just a labour issue; it is a national disgrace. A country that treats its intellectuals with such disregard cannot expect meaningful progress.
“Our members continue to suffer from unpaid salary arrears amounting to, but not limited to, 25-35 per cent wage reward. Promotion arrears, legally due to academics who earned them through merit, remain unpaid in many institutions for over four years.”
He further condemned the recent approval of nine new private universities by the Federal government, calling it an act of “hypocrisy.”
“Despite announcing a moratorium, the government recently approved nine new private universities, an act of hypocrisy driven by vested interests.
“ASUU demands an immediate freeze on the establishment of new universities until existing ones are adequately funded and staffed,” he added.
Mshelia said the union had also rejected the Federal Government’s Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Loan Scheme.
He also condemned the non-remittance of third-party deductions and criticized the refusal to sign the renegotiated 2009 agreement.
The ASUU Branch Chairman equally opposed the decision to rename the university after the late President Muhammadu Buhari.
He added: “The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Maiduguri Chapter, unequivocally condemns the recent unilateral decision to rename the University of Maiduguri as Muhammadu Buhari University.
“This action is not only provocative, it is a blatant violation of the principle of university autonomy and a grave affront to the values of academic freedom, institutional integrity, and democratic governance.
“Yet, the government responds with silence and neglect. Let it be known, strikes are never our first choice, but our last resort when all avenues of negotiation are exhausted,” he said.
He warned that “if the government continues on this path, industrial action will be inevitable, and responsibility will rest squarely on its shoulders.”
THIS STORY ORIGINALLY APPEARED AT SAHARA REPORTERS