LAGOS — The Federal Government’s habit of “fire-brigade” diplomacy hit a brick wall yesterday as talks with SSANU and NASU collapsed, leaving Nigeria’s federal universities teetering on the edge of a total administrative blackout.
Despite the high stakes, the meeting in Abuja reportedly yielded nothing but recycled promises. The unions, representing the backbone of university administration—from bursars to technicians—have grown tired of being the “forgotten children” of the education sector. Their demand is simple: pay the four months of withheld salaries that have been owed since 2022.
The atmosphere at the meeting was described by sources as “frosty.” While the government side attempted to leverage the current economic climate as a reason for further delay, the unions pointed to the flamboyant spending seen in other sectors of the bureaucracy. The LagosTimes notes that the disparity between the government’s plea for “sacrifice” and its actual fiscal priorities has become a sticking point that no amount of rhetoric can gloss over.
For Lagosians and Nigerians nationwide, this deadlock is a grim “deja vu.” If the JAC makes good on its threat to withdraw services, campus gates will be locked, transcripts will go unprocessed, and the already fragile university system will grind to a halt.
“The government is playing with fire,” said a NASU member at the University of Lagos. “They paid the lecturers, but they think the people who run the laboratories and the offices don’t matter? We will show them that a car cannot move without its wheels.”
As the unions return to their respective branches to consult on the next line of action, the cloud of an indefinite strike hangs low. If the Tinubu administration wants to prove it is serious about education, it needs to stop the talk-shops and start the bank transfers. Until then, the students—as always—remain the pawns in this endless game of brinkmanship.
