Nigerian professors salary demand hits N2.5m monthly as ASUU protests poor pay, citing global comparisons and worsening brain drain

The Nigerian professors salary demand has intensified, with academics insisting that anything below N2.5 million per month is no longer tenable.

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On Tuesday, protests erupted across campuses as members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) renewed pressure on the Federal Government to implement the renegotiated 2009 FGN–ASUU agreement.

Currently, under the Consolidated University Academic Salary Structure, professors earn between N525,010 and N633,333 monthly, while graduate assistants take home as little as N125,000. Lecturers argue that such wages cannot sustain their workload or living standards.

Prof. Remi Aiyede of the University of Ibadan stressed that Nigerian professors are among the most underpaid in Africa.

“Benchmarking across the continent shows professors earn between \$2,000 and \$4,000 monthly. Nigerian professors should not earn less than N2.5m,” he said, citing the Nimi-Briggs Commission’s recommendations.

At the University of Lagos, Prof. Abigail Ndizika-Ogwezzy highlighted the burden poor pay places on lecturers. “A house near campus costs at least N3m yearly.

Many lecturers can’t pay their children’s school fees, yet we do research, teach, publish, and serve our communities,” she lamented.

Prof. Sheriffdeen Tela of Babcock University added that the gap between professors and politicians was indefensible. “Even at N1.2m monthly, a professor earns less in a year than what some legislators take home in a month,” he argued.

Former ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, warned that Nigeria risks worsening its brain drain if professors are not better paid.

“If Nigeria wants its universities to compete globally, professors must be paid between N1m and N5m monthly. Anything less will push more talent abroad,” he said.

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The Nigerian professors salary demand underscores long-standing frustration in the academic sector, where poor pay and deteriorating conditions continue to threaten higher education’s future.