Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin

Former Vice Chancellor of the University of Abuja, as well as the Kwara State University (KWASU), Prof. AbdulRasheed Na’Allah, has urged both the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to put the interest of Nigeria first in their negotiations, warning that endless disputes have crippled higher education in the country.

Prof. 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 merely “certificate-issuing centres” instead of engines of national development.

“The crisis in Nigerian universities is at the core of our national crisis,” he said in an interview with newsmen in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

“Government has become less trustworthy, and unions are negotiating only for their members. Both sides no longer put Nigeria first.”

The Professor, who pioneered KWASU as its first Vice Chancellor, faulted the federal government for repeatedly signing agreements it cannot honour and blamed ASUU for shielding unproductive members.

He said: “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.”

Na’Allah 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 argued.

He lamented the decline of Nigeria’s first-generation institutions, citing the University of Ibadan’s fall from its once world-class status. According to him, 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,” he said.

“Research and surveys should have alerted the nation. But universities today are just about convocations and numbers, not solutions.”

Prof. Na’Allah said he does not see an end to the crisis unless sincerity and patriotism guide both sides. “The only solution is to love this nation. It’s not about ASUU, it’s not about government. It’s about Nigeria and whether we want our universities to compete globally.”

He 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 said.

On funding, the former VC called for reforms in the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), suggesting the creation of a grant window accessible to professors across both public and private universities.

“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 added.

Na’Allah, who also teaches at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) on sabbatical, disclosed that he recently introduced a new course, Digital Humanities, designed to integrate technology into the humanities.

He said 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.

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