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ASUU slams Osinbajo’s comment he got N620 salary as university lecturer

February 10, 2022 No Comments

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) yesterday replied a comment by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo that he collected N620 as a lecturer II when he started teaching in the University of Lagos in 1981.

In a post released on the Union’s Facebook page yesterday, the Union argued that the Vice President’s mention of his salary in 1981 had no relevance to the unjust treatment of university lecturers today.

Recall that at the 53rd Annual Conference of the Association of the Nigerian Law Teachers held in Kano State on Tuesday, the Vice President hinted at how fast life had changed for Nigerians.

He said, “I started teaching in the University of Lagos in 1981 as Lecturer II, and my salary at the time was N620. This clearly shows that the importance of law teachers in the life of the nation”

While giving some mathematical analysis of the Vice President’s N620 and the salaries paid to University lecturers, the Union noted that his salary was heavier than the meagre amount received by University lecturers in the country today.

“In 1981, 0.62 Naira is $1 (official rate was actually 61 Kobo). Therefore, N620 is worth 620 × 1/ 0.62 equals $1,000

“Convert $1,000 to naira at today’s exchange rate of about 575 (BDC) equals to 1000 × 575 which gives N575,000 per month

“If you use present official rate of 420 naira, you have N420,000 per month

“Now, this is practical demonstration of how poorer lecturers have become in today’s Nigeria. Which University pays a junior lecturer (between N420,000 to 575,000) per month? Even Professors at the bar now earn less than N500,000 whereas in 1981 such got a modern equivalent of not less than N200,000 monthly”.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has expressed hope that Nigeria’s worsening security situation will soon be over.

Osinbajo, said this on Thursday, when members of the Muhammadu Buhari/Osinbajo Dynamic Support Group, paid him a visit, in Abuja,

Nigeria has been grappling with a series of deepening security challenges ranging from banditry, terrorism, farmers-herders conflict, among others, which have led to the killing, maiming, abduction, raping and destruction of property of the citizenry.

The Vice President, however, declared that President Muhammadu Buhari was focused on resolving the security challenges in different parts of the country.

He said: “A lot of the security challenges we experience in Nigeria today will be resolved in due course.

This country will be stronger and greater. We must never relent in ensuring that we keep to the ideals of the country and we don’t lose sight of what we are trying to achieve here.

The President has always remained steadfast and focused in resolving the problems of the country beginning with security.

“He is a steady hand; he is unflappable, he is not panicky, he is focused and looking at the security issues every day, and trying to advance the best possible solutions.

People who suggest that the country breaks up, whatever may be the reason for their views, are certainly not correct and we must say so to them at every turn.

“The unity of this country is important for all of the different ethnicities, religions, everybody. Whatever the group or ideology, unity is important for every one of us.

“It is wrong for a country that is the largest economy in Africa and definitely going to be one of the largest economies in the world, to start thinking in terms of fragmenting itself.

“If you fragment, the problems are going to multiply, poverty will multiply.”