- Says ‘Enough is Enough’
By Shafa’atu Suleiman, Sokoto
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Sokoto state chapter has declared that it can no longer tolerate what it described as “empty rhetoric” from the Federal Government, insisting that only concrete actions can prevent a major crisis in the nation’s education sector.
Speaking in Sokoto on Tuesday, the ASUU Chairman, Professor Muhammad Nuradeen Almustapha said the union had exhausted all peaceful avenues in pressing home its demands but had been met with deception and endless delays.
“Enough is enough. Our union is tired of empty rhetorics. We demand concrete action. Bullets cannot stop extremism, poverty or ignorance only education can”
“If people remain ignorant, they will continue to fall into criminality. This is why we are fighting for quality university education”
He outlined ASUU’s key demands, including
1. Conclusion of the renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement by signing and implementing the Professor Yayale Ahmed committee report, submitted to the government since February 2025.
2. Payment of outstanding three and a half months’ withheld salaries.
3. Settlement of promotion arrears from 2018 to 2024.
4. Release of withheld third-party deductions running into billions of naira under IPPIS.
5. Payment of outstanding 25% and 35% salary arrears.
6. A sustainable framework for public university funding.
7. Commitment to full revitalization of universities.
8. End to victimization of ASUU members at LASU, KSU (now Prince Abubakar Audu University), and FUTO.
He lamented that despite several promises by the government, none had been fulfilled. “The Yayale report has been lying unattended on government shelves until our union raised it again on August 11. This is unacceptable,” he said.
The union said that the government was destroying trust between both parties, stressing that “their responsibility now lies with them to regain that trust and avert another prolonged strike.”
He recalled that ASUU had previously suspended strike action in the hope that promises made by the current administration would be fulfilled, including a personal commitment from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu before his election to settle withheld salaries.
“Sadly, none of those promises have been kept. Today, we don’t even have access to the president to remind him of what he pledged. This is unfortunate”
He added that ASUU had written several letters to the federal government and consulted prominent Nigerians in a bid to resolve the crisis amicably but said the government’s “consistent silence and inaction” had left the union with no alternative.
“History has shown that it is always the government’s inaction that pushes us into strike. This time is no different. If they fail to act, ASUU has no option but to go on strike,” he added.
“This struggle is for the future of all of us. We have been patient, but the government cannot continue to take our goodwill for granted. Enough is enough”
The protest brought together members of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto (UDUS), Sokoto State University (SSU), and Shehu Shagari University of Education (SSUES) branches of ASUU.