Stephen Olufemi Oni 
Former Vice Chancellor of the University of Abuja and Kwara State University (KWASU), Prof. AbdulRasheed Na’Allah, has urged the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to put Nigeria’s interest above all else in their negotiations, warning that endless disputes have crippled higher education in the country.
Na’Allah, who is currently the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council of the newly licensed Abdulrasaq Abubakar Toyin (AAT) University, said years of mistrust between ASUU and government had weakened universities, reducing them to “mere certificate-issuing centres” instead of engines of national development.
“The crisis in Nigerian universities is at the core of our national crisis. Government has become less trustworthy, and unions are negotiating only for their members. Both sides no longer put Nigeria first,” he said in Ilorin while speaking with journalists.
The professor, who pioneered KWASU as its first Vice Chancellor, faulted the federal government for repeatedly signing agreements it could not honour, and criticised ASUU for shielding unproductive members.
“In Nigeria, you will find professors who don’t teach, don’t attend classes, don’t bring in research grants, yet they want to be paid. Negotiations should be based on productivity. Professors who bring in grants, develop products, and work with industries should earn more. Those who don’t contribute should leave the system,” he said.
He stressed that government must also demand accountability in exchange for improved funding. “If ASUU is asking for better pay, government too should set conditions—quality teaching, industrial linkages, community development, semester-by-semester assessment of lecturers. That’s how universities grow,” he added.
Citing the decline of Nigeria’s first-generation universities, particularly the University of Ibadan, Na’Allah lamented that institutions once ranked among the best globally have lost their edge. He argued that a functional university system could have anticipated and addressed national crises such as insecurity.
“Boko Haram shouldn’t have even shown its face if our universities were effective. Research and surveys should have alerted the nation. But universities today are just about convocations and numbers, not solutions,” he said.
The former VC also drew comparisons with China, where he recently attended an Artificial Intelligence (AI) conference at Beijing Normal University. “China’s universities are leading in AI, powering everything from education to national defence. No Nigerian university is doing close to one percent of that,” he noted.
On funding, Na’Allah called for reforms in the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) to allow both public and private university professors to access research grants. “The law says TETFUND supports public universities, but we need a scheme that allows any professor in Nigeria, regardless of institution, to compete for grants. That way, innovation is encouraged nationwide,” he said.
Na’Allah, currently on sabbatical at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), disclosed that he recently introduced a new course, Digital Humanities, designed to integrate technology into the humanities.
He added that AAT University, where he chairs the governing council, is being built on a foundation of entrepreneurship, vocational training, and community development.
“We don’t want a university that only gives certificates. We want one that changes society, strengthens it, and enriches it,” he said.
