Abuja, Nigeria – November 22, 2025 – The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is set to embark on an indefinite nationwide strike over unpaid salaries, funding shortfalls, and unresolved welfare issues, as the four-week ultimatum issued by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in collaboration with tertiary education unions expires today. This development, stemming from stalled negotiations with the Federal Government, threatens to paralyze public universities at a time when the education sector is already reeling from violent abductions and school shutdowns, deepening Nigeria’s ongoing education emergency.
The NLC’s ultimatum, announced on October 20, 2025, demanded the swift conclusion of renegotiations under the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement, including the release of withheld salaries, improved infrastructure funding, and a living wage for lecturers. ASUU had earlier suspended a two-week warning strike in October to allow for dialogue, issuing its own one-month ultimatum expiring around November 22.
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However, ASUU’s National Executive Council (NEC), in meetings held on November 8-9, expressed profound dissatisfaction with the government’s “inconsistent approach” and “cosmetic interventions,” accusing it of insincerity and sabotage. Zonal coordinators, including those from Sokoto and Kano, have warned that without meaningful progress—such as honoring prior agreements and halting the outsourcing of university jobs—the union will resume full industrial action immediately.
The crisis is compounded by a surge in school abductions across northern and central Nigeria, forcing widespread shutdowns. On Friday, November 21, gunmen stormed St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri community, Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State, abducting at least 215 pupils and 12 teachers in one of the largest mass kidnappings since the 2024 Kaduna incident.This followed the Monday, November 17, abduction of 25 girls from a government boarding school in Maga, Kebbi State, where the vice-principal was killed despite prior security warnings. In response, the Niger State government and federal security agencies have launched search-and-rescue operations, while the government has shuttered 47 colleges nationwide to mitigate further risks.UNICEF has condemned these attacks, emphasizing that classrooms must be safe havens and calling for accountability under international law, as Nigeria grapples with a 44% global rise in school violence.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has urgently called for a state of emergency on security, attributing the escalating violence—including these abductions—to “systemic failures” in Nigeria’s defense and intelligence systems. In a statement on November 21, Atiku described the incidents as “heartbreaking” and stressed that bold action is still possible to protect vulnerable citizens, particularly in education. President Bola Tinubu has canceled his attendance at the G20 Summit in South Africa to focus on the crisis, deploying additional forces and recalibrating security strategies.
On X (formerly Twitter), discussions around the ASUU impasse and abductions have spotlighted the profound mental health toll on students, academics, and families amid a barrage of unrelenting “bad news.” Users in various threads describe widespread anxiety, trauma, and despair, with parents voicing fears for their children’s futures and lecturers lamenting the erosion of academic morale. The hashtag #EndASUUSuffering is gaining traction among students and academics, serving as a rallying cry for immediate government intervention to halt the cycle of strikes and insecurity that has left Nigeria’s youth in limbo.
ASUU Strike Looms as NLC Ultimatum Expires; Education Sector in Crisis
