From Umar Danladi Ado, Sokoto
The Academic Staff Union of Universities has blamed the federal government for continuously frustrating its members, resulting in the mass exodus of over 309 professors from Nigeria’s public universities.
The union therefore call for urgent intervention to stem the brain drain and rescue Nigeria’s public universities from imminent collapse.
ASUU Zonal Chairman for Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, and Katsina States, Professor Abubakar Sabo, stated this weekend during a town hall meeting organized by the ASUU Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto branch at the institution’s City Campus.
Sabo maintained that the mass exodus of senior academics from public universities, who have resigned within the last nine months, is in search of better working conditions abroad.
He said the figure represents a growing “intellectual hemorrhage” that threatens the survival of public universities, as many scholars are relocating to the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Cameroon, and other countries.
“From the last action we had until now, we lost about 309 professors — some to private universities in Nigeria, others to the UK, Saudi Arabia, Cameroon, and beyond.
Our intellectual capital is being drained because the conditions of service no longer make it possible for many to stay and teach,” he said.
He warned that ASUU may soon embark on a two-week warning strike, starting October 13, 2025, if the Federal Government continues to ignore the union’s demands on funding, earned allowances, and improved working conditions.
“We have been patient long enough. Our duty is to salvage public universities. If the government continues to ignore us, we will not fold our arms while the system collapses,” he declared.
Sabo accused the Federal Government of frustrating negotiations, saying that despite the submission of the Yayale Ahmed Committee report in January 2025, no tangible action has been taken.
“When we gave a two-week ultimatum, the government only began making calls — then invited other tertiary unions like those of polytechnics and colleges of education to complicate the process. That’s a ploy to overstretch the education budget and frustrate our struggle,” he alleged.
Earlier, ASUU-UDUS Chairperson, Prof. Muhammad Almustapha, said the town hall was convened to alert Nigerians to the deepening rot in the university system and the government’s failure to honor its commitments.
“Over the years, ASUU has, unfortunately, become synonymous with strikes because the government hardly honors its promises. It has become a cycle of broken promises and dashed hopes,” he declared.