By Muhammad Abdullahi Sani. Give an appropriate name to that guy that loves to compare your output with your colleagues in universities abroad but is angry when you compare your salary with your colleagues abroad.
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Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), By Muhammad Abdullahi Sani. Kano, is perhaps the only airport where more than ten staff members will ‘check’ your passport and other documents when travelling. An official sometimes checks the same docs twice! This gives room for some of them to beg travellers. Honestly, this is tiring and embarrassing or even worse. In most other airports, only the border police and the airline crew check your passport.When I am at MAKIA, I turn the clock to the pre-technology era. Hence, I calmed myself down when a staff shouted at me in 2020, days before the declaration of Covid-19 as a pandemic. He lectured me on arriving at the airport on time to avoid missing my flight. I even added, “thank you”.The above may sound petty to some people or abstract to others, especially those who don’t travel frequently. Nevertheless, it bothers me pretty much. I always believe we can and should do better. We should normalise adopting the good we see in others. Thus, the authority at MAKIA should reduce this redundancy, sham and shameful acts. Best wishes.
ALTERNATIVE TO ASUU STRIKE: UNTIL NIGERIAN STUDENTS BEGIN STRIKE.... By Muhammad Abdullahi Sani. Students are supposed to be critical stakeholders in addressing the numerous challenges bedeviling the education sector in Nigeria. They are supposed to be vocal and fierce pressure group that can make authorities to prioritize education.Unfortunately, most Nigerian students, including the parents, are not after standard and quality, especially at tertiary level, but the certificate.On the night before 14th February, 2022, the day ASUU commenced the ongoing strike, some students in one of the hostels of my school spent the whole night partying to usher in the ASUU strike.For the fact that ASUU branches don't commence strike, even after NEC decision, until each branch conducts its congress to reaffirm the decision taken by NEC; - this is how democratic ASUU is - on Monday, the 14th, I supposed to have a class and I went for my normal lectures since our congress was scheduled for Tuesday, the 15th, but to my utmost dismay most of the students did not turn up. It means they were eager for ASUU to start strike.The government and its agents have clearly understood the "psyche" of students of "getting certificate at all cost and the knowledge can go to hell." This is why it became easier for those in authority to incite the students and their parents against ASUU, portraying the union as the ONLY impediment for their graduation to get CERTIFICATE.Until Nigerian students robustly play their role as critical pressure group, Nigerian politicians will continue to trample upon their inalienable right for education.Politicians have state resources at their disposal to enroll their wards in expensive foreign schools as well as the highly exorbitant local private institutions.With this, the vicious circle of poverty and leadership will remain in Nigeria till eternity. The son of the have not will remain uneducated and in abject poverty, while the children of politicians will get the right education and become heirs of their parents as senators, representatives, governors and even presidents, hence Nigeria will assume the posture of monarchy with heir apparent; who are the children of politicians, the rich and those with access to the corridors of power.Similarly, “juicy” government agencies, corporations and parastatals will also remain exclusively reserved for the wards of the haves that are better educated and motivated. Nigerian students should quickly realise that they are the prime beneficiaries of the struggle for better universities and other tertiary institutions and they must involve themselves in the struggle as done by their predecessors in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.
By Muhammad Abdullahi Sani msaniabdu22@gmail.com +2348126365219.Muhammad Abdullahi Sani was born on 22 August, 2004 at Igabi Local Government Area Kaduna State, Nigeria. He is a Nigerian Journalist, Democrat And Human Rights Activist, He is also a social media personality based on Facebook.Alma Mater: Ahmadu Bello University.Occupation: Journalist, Democrat And Human Rights Activist.Career: Muhammad Abdullahi Sani works at various online news agencies such as Daily Trust Hausa, Vanguard Hausa and Alfijir Hausa, He also worked at National Human Rights Commission.Early Life: Muhammad Abdullahi Sani started his primary school at NTI (2007-12), Kaduna State, He also went to Scintillate International School (2012-2016). And He went to Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria were He pursued His Bachelor Degree (Mass Communication).
ASUU Strike and some of the frequently asked questions...My response to some frequently asked questions on the ASUU strike and the demands.Qn: ASUU has been going on strike since the 80s and has not produced results. Why can't they change tactics?Ans: First-generation universities were established to be able to sustain themselves with time. You can see that from their assets. The coming of the military government in 1966 distorted the plan as education that was still in the developmental stage was pulled out of the priority list of the country by the government. Development in education was relatively stagnant as more universities were established in 1975. The starting structure sustained the first and second-generation universities to a point. They start to degrade without adequate attention. ASUU and the Student Union began the agitation for proper funding. Students got lost somewhere along the line after they successfully killed radical student unionism. That agitation by ASUU led to the establishment of what we have now as TETFund in 1993 which brought a little relief to the public universities. Then, the release of the first tranche (N200bn) of the revitalization funds in 2014 by the government of President Goodluck Jonathan got some jobs done. Our university would have long died without the intervention of ASUU. It is the ASUU strike that has given our universities a semblance of a university, else they would have all gone like the public primary and secondary schools.Qn. What was ASUU asking for in the FG-ASUU 2009 agreement?Ans: The following is contained in the 2009 agreement--Salary Structure for Academic Staff in Nigerian Universities -Earned Academic Allowances -Funding of Universities and sources of funding-University Autonomy and Academic Freedom-Some issues that require legislation.The 2009 agreement which includes the salary of academic staff was meant to be renegotiated every 3 years. It's 13 years now and the agreement has not been renegotiated. You can find the details of the said agreement here. https://asuu.org.ng/fg-asuu-agreements/Qn: What is this University AutonomyAns: The principle of autonomy is the power possessed by universities to govern themselves, have their own rules within the framework of their *organic* law, designate their authorities, determine their plans and programs within the principles of academic freedom, and research, and freely manage their assets. This is to shield the ivory tower from the bureaucracy of the civil service. The Nigerian Universities Autonomy Act No. 1, 2007 has this: "The Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Act 2003 (otherwise called the Universities Autonomy Act No. 1, 2007) enacted by the National Assembly and signed into law on 10th July 2003 and later gazetted by the Federal Republic of Nigerian Official Gazette No. 10, Volume 94 of 12th January 2007 as Act No. 1 of 2000, has vested the powers of MANAGING THE PERSONNEL AND PAYROLL SYSTEM. By Muhammad Abdullahi Sani
The beautiful life of the Nigerian university lecturers that you do not know.ByAbdelghaffar Amoka Abdelmalik, PhDDepartment of PhysicsAhmadu Bello University, Zariaaaabdelmalik@abu.edu.ngFebruary 15, 2022.About 2 weeks ago, a friend visited me in my office and while we were discussing, he said he will love to be a lecturer. He is currently working in a good FG establishment with a relatively OK salary. He has worked there for about 10 years. I don't know what his salary is, but I asked him about the starting salary for a graduate and he said it's about N220,000 per month. I was like wow! That's not a bad monthly salary for a starter and he said yeah. Then, I told him that coming to academics is not a bad idea but that as a friend, he needs to know a bit about it before making a decision.So, I told him that if he should leave that job for a university lecturing job, and since he has got no MSc degree yet, he will be employed as a Graduate Assistant (GA) with a starting salary of about N95,000 per month. Is he prepared to drop from close to N300,000 to N95,000? He was like that is unbelievable, you are underpaid. And I said that is not all. While you had been getting a promotion after a specified period in your organisation, in the university you won't be promoted after employment till you get a Master's degree.I continued. As a GA you will have to enrol in a master's program. There is no research grant for staff in training, so you may have to save your salary or take a loan to do the MSc research. As staff in training, you are expected to finish within 3 years. Whenever you are done, you will be upgraded to Assistant Lecturer to earn about N118,270 per month.As Assistant Lecturer you enrol for a PhD. There is still no PhD research grant except you are lucky to get a TETFund scholarship. If you aren't lucky, you save part of your salary for the PhD research which you are expected to finish within 5 years. It could take a longer time.3 years later you are expected to have published 1 journal paper or gone to conferences to present 2 papers from the research you did with your salary to be qualified for promotion. If you don't have that, the years you have taught do not matter, you will have to wait until you meet the said requirement. If you succeeded, you will be promoted to the rank of Lecturer II with a starting salary of about N129,724 per month.3 years later you are expected to have published 3 journal papers with conference papers from the research you did with your salary to be qualified for promotion to Lecturer I. If you don't have that, you will have to wait until you meet the requirement irrespective of the years you have taught. If you succeeded, you will get a salary of close to N160,809 per month as Lecturer I.The next promotion after another 3 years is to the rank of Senior Lecturer. To qualify for this rank, you must have obtained your PhD with at least 6 journal papers in recognised journals and 4 conference papers. Without meeting the waiting period, PhD, and publication requirement, you won't be promoted no matter the number of years and number of students you have taught. Note that you will do the research with your personal fund and pay for the publication with your personal fund. As a senior lecturer, you will have a salary of N222,229 per month. That is the salary of a starter in your organisation in same Nigeria.The promotion to the rank of Reader (Associate Professor) will come after 3 years and after meeting the research and publication requirements of 10 journal papers and 5 conference papers, PG supervision, etc. That earns you a salary of N277,179 per month. Then you become a Professor 3 years later after meeting its own research and publications requirement of 15 journal papers and 7 conference papers, PhD supervision, etc., to earn a salary of N332,833 per month.With the increasing number of students and loads of scripts to mark, teaching does not count for promotion but the output from the research that is not provided for. You save your salary to earn a promotion. No book grant, you buy books for yourself with your salary. Nigerian public University lecturers are perhaps the only workers that use their salary to work to achieve the criteria set for their promotion.I told him that if he should join the academics now, it will take him the next 12 years at least, to become a Senior Lecturer to earn the salary of a starter in his present organisation. And that since FG thinks the lecturers deserve no pay rise, it will take him the next 15 years of serious academic and research output to earn his present salary in his present organisation. Meanwhile, he will have to fund all that with his salary for that 15 years. I asked if he still want to be a lecturer and he was mute. He was like this is bad and not fair. Then I said, when you see us in class teaching with all smiles and doing our best, it is not because we have a good salary and working conditions, but because we love the job and try to manage the little we are receiving to get the job done.This is the life of the academic that you do not know. Their life may look glittering but it is not gold.The poor welfare and work environment are telling on the quality of the output from the university. Some lecturers, especially the younger ones, are already getting pissed off and leaving or planning to leave. So, how long can we sustain this? Everyone keeps saying every lecturer should have a side hustle and stop complaining. That will be the worst thing to happen to Nigerian universities. Some of our colleagues with side hustle just come to teach and leave to manage their side hustle. You can ask the students about the impact of such a lecturer on them. You don't want to have a university where lecturers just come to teach and leave for their side hustle. A university is not designed that way.President Buhari, Adamu Adamu, and Nasiru El-Rufai in 2013/2014 gave a detailed explanation of the several reasons why ASUU is always declaring strike actions. Adamu Adamu's articles on why ASUU is always on strike were something else. As a matter of fact, I have never seen a comprehensive article like El-Rufai's write-up in October 2013 that he titled: For those who do not understand "why ASUU is on strike". Go back and read their words and listen to their videos and stop behaving like you need a thinking cap.ASUU fight is for the survival of the system where you want your child to come for a degree program. We have helped the state governors to destroy public primary and secondary education. You have a choice to take side with the FG towards the destruction of the remnant of the education system or join the fight to save the system. The choice is all yours.©Amoka
