The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has voiced his grave worry over the declining pay and working conditions faced by Nigerian university academics.
A depressing experience Obi had with a friend, a 14-year university professor, who asked for help getting a Special Adviser position to support a candidate for the House of Representatives, citing better pay and benefits than his current academic position, was shared in a post on his official X handle.
In order to draw attention to the concerning state of affairs, Obi carried out a comparison analysis, which showed that the pay for Nigerian university professors has stayed constant at about N400,000 for the past 14 years.
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The professor’s pay fell from $2665 to a pitiful $265 during this time due to the fluctuating currency rate from N150.10 to N1,510 per dollar.
With a look of dismay on his face, Obi underlined the importance of the education sector for the growth of the country and emphasised the need for a dedicated labour force. He wondered how the nation could draw in people with such commitment when academic salaries were declining.
Obi articulated, “While in Nsukka, I met one of those brilliant fellows I knew while I was a student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in the 80s.
“The fellow graduated with a first class and became a lecturer in the institution. When I later visited the University as the then Governor of Anambra State, he proudly announced to me that he was already a professor and I rejoiced with him.
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“I met him again in Nsukka on Wednesday, but our exchange of pleasantries resulted in very pathetic tales about his general welfare. I noticed in his look and mien that all his happiness of being a professor had vanished.
“He broke my heart when he requested that I put in words for him so that Hon Dennis Agbo can appoint him as Special Adviser when he wins.
“The reason for the bizarre request that shocked me was that he would earn more and receive more perks as an SA than as a Professor. Touched by this and applying my finance background I decided to do some comparative analysis.
“By January 31, 2010, the salary of a Nigerian University Professor was about N400,000. With the then prevalent exchange rate of N150.10 per dollar, the salary amounted to about $2665.
“Fourteen years later, on January 31, 2024, the salary of a University Professor remains about N400,000. With the prevailing exchange rate of N1,510 per dollar, the same salary now amounts to about $265.
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“So after putting in 14 years of hard work, having attained the zenith of his academic career, a Nigerian University Professor now earns 10% of what he earned 14 years ago – this is only possible in Nigeria,” he lamented.
Obi further stated, “A few years ago, a Toyota Corolla cost N4.8 million, so his annual salary without any expenditure on any other item, amounting to about N4.8 million, could buy a Toyota Corolla.
“Today, the same Toyota Corolla costs about N52 million which is more than 10 years of his salary without expenditure, to be able to buy one, after having attained the highest point one can achieve in academia.
“Considering the critical role education plays in the development of a nation, and the low human development index, HDI, we are currently at, we require as many hands and a committed workforce as we can get in that sector.
“But can we get such, when the earnings of our professors are going backward relatively? Sadly, we are in the same country where the government can use an amount enough to buy 3 Toyota Corollas, to buy personal SUVs for the legislators, whose annual earnings amount to several times that of the university professor and can now afford to pay the professor more than he can earn from lecturing in a premier university in Nigeria.
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“How does one then remain earnestly committed to contributing to the critical development of the nation?
“My campaign, therefore, is to dismantle this criminality and create a functional society where people’s talents, efforts and sacrifices will match up with their opportunities in life.
“We can reverse this negative trend and build a fairer society. A new and different nation is POssible,” Obi concluded.
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