The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has expressed deep concern over what it describes as a worsening brain drain in Nigeria’s public universities, revealing that 309 professors have left the country’s higher education system in the last nine months alone.
This was disclosed by Professor Abubakar Sabo, ASUU Zonal Coordinator for Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, and Katsina States, during a town hall meeting organised by the ASUU branch of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), held at the university’s City Campus on Saturday.
Professor Sabo described the departures as an “intellectual haemorrhage”, warning that the continued exit of top academics to foreign institutions could cripple Nigeria’s already struggling university system.
“From our last industrial action until now, we’ve lost about 309 professors, some to private universities within Nigeria, but many to countries like the UK, Saudi Arabia, Cameroon, and others,” he said.
According to him, the mass exit is driven largely by poor working conditions, unpaid entitlements, and the failure of the Federal Government to implement key agreements reached with the union over the years.
He added that ASUU may soon declare a two-week warning strike if the government continues to ignore the union’s long-standing demands, which include proper funding for public universities, payment of earned academic allowances, and better salaries.
“We’ve exercised patience, but there’s a limit,” Sabo said.
“Our duty is to save Nigeria’s public universities. If the government won’t act, we cannot fold our arms while the system deteriorates.”
He accused the government of stalling negotiations and frustrating genuine efforts to restore integrity to the education sector.
Notably, he cited the Yayale Ahmed Committee report, submitted in January 2025, which he claims has seen no action.
“They’ve even tried to complicate the process by involving other unions from polytechnics and colleges of education just to overstretch the education budget and stall our demands,” he alleged.
Also speaking at the event, ASUU-UDUS Chairperson, Prof. Muhammad Almustapha, said the town hall was convened to draw national attention to what he called a “silent collapse” of the public university system.
“ASUU is often associated with strikes, but it’s not by choice. We’ve been trapped in a cycle of broken promises and abandoned agreements,” he said.
The event was attended by lecturers, students, civil society organisations, and media professionals, all of whom echoed calls for urgent government intervention.
ASUU has a long history of industrial actions aimed at forcing government compliance with agreements, including the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement and the 2020 Memorandum of Action.
Many of these agreements, the union says, have been ignored or only partially implemented.
Nigeria’s worsening economic conditions, marked by rising inflation, naira devaluation, and stagnant public sector wages, have made it increasingly difficult for university lecturers, especially senior academics, to remain in the system.
“It’s no longer sustainable for many of us to teach and carry out research under these conditions,” Sabo noted.
“If nothing is done soon, even more will leave.”
