By Sar Terver
The turbulence unfolding at the Federal University of Lafia (FULAFIA), Nasarawa State, over alleged tribal invective must be weighed against a national backdrop where academic staff feel systematically neglected.
Across Nigerian universities, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) chapters are mobilising not only over unpaid salaries, promotion arrears, allowances, and failing infrastructure, but also over the pitiful pensions awaiting lecturers after decades of service.
Dr. Abubakar Mshelia of the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) recently described the ₦150, 000 monthly pension for professors as “a national disgrace,” lamenting that “professors who have spent over 40 years teaching generations retire on a meagre ₦150,00 while inflation is above 21 per cent”, Daily Post online said.
Similar protests have been held in Bauchi, Taraba and Ibadan, with lecturers warning of a full shutdown unless the government honours the long-overdue 2009 agreement, clears arrears and abandons what ASUU calls a “loan scheme disguised as welfare”, THISDAY, 25 August 2025; National Accord, 25 Aug. 2025).
In this tense climate, Professor Wilfred Terlumun Uji of FULAFIA’s Department of History and International Studies alleges that he was harassed after criticising University management and questioning what he described as the hypocrisy of ASUU leaders who “silence dissenting voices even while fighting for freedom.”
According to Uji, during a phone call, the Secretary to the Vice Chancellor, Mr. Ozomata Bashir, berated him, allegedly told him to “go back to Benue State,” and warned that his children’s future could be endangered if he persisted in his criticism.
“I was shocked that in the 21st century, within a federal institution, a top official could deploy such ethnic profiling against me simply for contributing to a national debate,” Uji said. “This kind of language is reminiscent of past ethnic conflicts in Nasarawa where Tiv people were told to ‘go back to Benue.’ It is both life-threatening and demeaning.”
He further claimed that, instead of defending him, the ASUU branch chairman, Sunday Orinya, blocked him from union platforms on Bashir’s instructions, an action he said revealed the union’s internal contradictions.
“This shows that the local chapter of ASUU and the university management are working hand-in-hand to intimidate dissenting voices. It shows hypocrisy and internal division at a time the union needs to be united in its struggle,” Uji added.
Responding in a phone interview, Bashir denied the allegations. He rejected claims that he told Uji to “go back to Benue State” or ordered ASUU to block him from its forums. He insisted his conversation with Uji was personal:
“I called him on personal grounds. Prof. Uji is a friend. In fact, he lectured me when I was pursuing my doctorate. So, when I saw he was becoming a public nuisance to the University, I felt obliged to call him to order and advise him as a personal friend. I told him, ‘Prof. Uji, people are following you, trying to learn from you. Try to maintain some restraint”.
On the claim that he threatened Uji’s family, Bashir explained: “I said we all have children. Whatever our fathers do has an impact on us. I was only cautioning him that what he does today may be referenced tomorrow. But he twisted it to say I threatened him.”
The clash at FULAFIA points to a deeper national struggle. From Bauchi to Taraba, lecturers lament the absence of functional pension schemes.
At Sa’adu Zungur University, Bauchi, ASUU cited cases of academics whose families were left destitute after 13 years of service because deductions were not remitted (Daily Trust, 2025).
In Taraba, the union warned that lack of retirement benefits was driving away talent and crushing morale (The Guardian, 2025).
Relatedly, retired police officers and civil servants have also staged protests nationwide, with some alleging that ₦32 billion in deductions were withheld by state governments (Premium Times, 2025).
ASUU President Prof. Chris Piwuna, in a recent briefing, warned: “Time is running out. Our patience is stretched to its breaking point” (Premium Times, 2025).
He called on Nigerians, the National Assembly and religious leaders to intervene before universities are shut down once again (The Guardian, 2025).
The developments in Lafia, when viewed against this backdrop, highlight not only ethnic tensions within institutions but also the wider insecurity of Nigeria’s academic community.
The national agitation poses difficult questions: when ASUU is fighting for dignity in retirement and autonomy in governance, should dissent within campuses be suppressed rather than engaged? And how much longer can the system sustain itself when professors retire into penury while a culture of intimidation festers?
For Professor Uji, the issue goes beyond unpaid allowances. “What is happening to me may look like an isolated case, but it is part of a larger pattern of profiling and suppression. It is a dangerous signal when hate speech and intimidation are normalized within the walls of an ivory tower.”
In the end, the crisis at FULAFIA exposes the rot in Nigeria’s education sector. It is a reminder that the debate over pensions, autonomy and respect for academic freedom is not just about figures on a payslip; it is about whether Nigerian Universities can rise above prejudice and state neglect to protect the very people who nurture the nation’s future.
