ASUU Protest Gains Momentum as UNILAG, UNN, Others Join Nationwide Action

Academic activities across several Nigerian public universities, including the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), were suspended on Monday as members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) embarked on a nationwide protest.

The protest, organised in response to unresolved disputes with the federal government, witnessed lecturers and academic staff mobilising across campuses in a coordinated action to demand urgent attention to longstanding issues.

At UNILAG, lecturers confirmed their full participation in the protest. Kayode Adebayo, a chieftain of ASUU and the chapter’s representative, said the institution stood firmly behind the union’s call.

“It’s a normal protest to call the attention of everyone on how, since 2009, the dialogue with the federal government has not yielded any results. We’ve gone on strike since the inception of this administration; hence, this government started using it as a measure of achievement, but the point is that they didn’t do anything to improve the lives of ASUU members,” he said.

Adebayo added that the protest was a last resort after years of failed dialogue. “We have been silent for too long. In the past three years, ASUU has not gone on strike, despite the government’s failure to address our requests. ASUU is tired; things can’t continue to be like this; that’s the meaning of the protest basically,” he explained.

The former UNILAG-ASUU chairman also criticised the government’s failure to review the 2009 agreement. “There is a document before the government that has been submitted since December last year. It’s there; the government has never issued a single word about that document,” he noted.

Confirming the development, UNILAG’s ASUU chairman, Idowu Kehinde, said a press conference would follow the rally to further highlight their demands.

At the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), ASUU members also suspended lectures to join the protest after their congress. Ifeanyi Abada, a chieftain of the union, said, “They will join the protest today, but that will be after the congress. Academic activities would also be suspended as a result of this.”

In Bayelsa State, Stanley Boroh, a senior lecturer at the Federal University, Otuoke, revealed that examinations scheduled for the day were cancelled to allow members to participate fully in the demonstration.

“In fact, we are writing examinations, but all papers for today have been cancelled due to the protest and have been moved to September 1. We are marching around the school vicinity with placards to express our displeasure over the government’s attitude, and we are also inviting the press people to cover it,” he said.

However, at the University of Benin (UNIBEN), academic activities continued as normal, with some lecturers not joining the protest. Students reported that classes were still being held.

The protests follow an announcement by Christopher Piwuna, ASUU president, who on August 23 declared that the union would embark on a nationwide demonstration to press home demands.

Piwuna accused the federal government of years of inaction and broken promises, stressing that the protest aimed to highlight the neglect of Nigeria’s public university system. He listed underfunding, unpaid salaries, and unfulfilled agreements as major grievances.

The growing participation of institutions across the country underlines the momentum ASUU’s protest has gathered, raising concerns about yet another prolonged disruption in Nigeria’s tertiary education sector.