Just give me my money
It’s not a great day to be a Nigerian student
Good morning, Big Brains. Am I weird or is it entirely normal to be mad at someone for something they did to you in your dream? I woke up mad at someone because they pissed me off in my dream and I just started questioning my sanity.
- Margaret
Word count: ~1000
Reading time ~ 3 mins
Let’s get into today’s edition:
The only thing SSANU and NASU want to hear from the government is ka-ching
Ndume wants Tinubu to fire more ministers
Dangote is gassing Tinubu up
The Big Deal
The only thing SSANU and NASU want to hear from the government is ka-ching
When the devil cannot get Nigerian students, he sends a failing education system to do his dirty work. Members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) have started an indefinite strike across public universities because they’re owed four months of unpaid salaries.
This isn’t one of those strikes that catch people by surprise because both unions have given the federal government several chances to release their pending paychecks since March 2024, but their efforts have been met with silence.
This indefinite strike will probably be messier than the other strikes they’ve organised in the past because they believe that FG is playing favourites after paying the eight months' salary it owed members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and leaving them empty-handed.
In October 2023, President Tinubu ordered the payment of ASUU's withheld salaries and said nothing about SSANU and NASU’s request. Before the former Education Minister Tahir Mamman was laid off, he explained that the delay in payment was just a “communication problem.” But it’s almost been a week since the Minister was dismissed and it’s still crickets from the government.
Why is this a big deal?
This SSANU and NASU strike shows how fragile Nigeria's public universities have become but that’s not even the thing.
While it might seem like just another unpaid salaries issue, it’s more than that. Public universities practically depend on non-academic staff for day-to-day functions – these guys handle everything from hostel security and power supply to administrative operations. With them out on strike, students are going to have a tough time in school. Sure, they may still manage to get to class within the first days of the strike, but if this continues, issues of closed hostels, locked gates, and power cuts will start arising, and they’ll be impossible to ignore
The timing couldn’t be worse. Earlier this month, ASUU also threatened to go on another academic strike because its members are in debt due to unpaid salaries. Sadly, Nigerian students are at the worst end of these frequent strikes. The First Lady herself confirmed that the dropout rate in Nigeria is becoming alarming, but if SSANU, NASU and ASUU still have the same complaints in 2024, she and her husband don’t seem to be losing much sleep over it.
Ndume wants Tinubu to fire more ministers
The only book Nigerian ministers will be reading these days is “How to Get on My Boss’ Good Side” because Senator Ali Ndume from Borno South wants President Tinubu to dismiss more underachieving ministers.
Ndume also added that he’s a fan of Tinubu’s cabinet adjustments, especially the introduction of the Ministry of Regional Development.
He believes, too that there’s one last thing the president needs to do to make sure that the cabinet arrangements achieve the best result — organise a national economic conference where the smartest guys from the Ministry of Budget and the National Economic Adviser, can come together to brainstorm local solutions for Nigeria’s failing.
Former presidential aspirant Chief Charles Udeogaranya, on the other hand, isn’t a fan of the President’s decision to dismiss five of his ministers. He calls the reshuffle poorly targeted and claims it would do nothing to help the country’s economy.
“I’m concerned that President Tinubu’s economic team isn’t even brainstorming. I, therefore, urge him to overhaul, reshuffle, and inject fresh talent with strong leadership skills into his economic team if he genuinely seeks a better economy for Nigeria and Nigerians.” ” Udeogaranya said.
It’s too soon to tell whether the dismissal of any of these ministers will benefit the country, but in the meantime, are you Team Ndume or Team Udeogaranya?
Dangote is gassing Tinubu up
Aliko Dangote faced some major blockers in early 2024 under the Tinubu-led administration before he was finally able to launch the Dangote refinery and for the longest time, some Nigerians assumed that the two power figures had beef.
But it looks like all is well in the Dangote and Tinubu world because the billonaire just invested $280 million in Tinubu’s Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) technology.
He didn’t stop at investing major dollar bills, he also gassed the President’s CNG initiative up (pun is very much intended), claiming that it will provide Nigerians with cleaner and cheaper fuel options.
Unlike most Nigerians, he is optimistic about Tinubu leading the charge toward energy efficiency and believes the private sector has a big role to play in this green revolution.
And it’s not just talk—Dangote is all in on his commitment to the CNG initiative. His company, Dangote Cement, is now the biggest player in the CNG truck game in Nigeria. As of October, the company announced that it got its first shipment of 1,500 mono-fuel CNG trucks. They also expect to receive another 1,600 trucks, bringing the total to 3,100 by the end of the year.
This Week’s Big Question
“What’s one thing that can significantly improve the quality of your life?”
Kelani’s response - “An international remote job. I’m tired of working for Nigerian employers. Maybe I’m just unlucky to have worked with some unreasonable people but an international job will heal me.”
You can also share your response here, and if it’s as interesting as Kelani’s , we’ll feature it in the next edition.
The Big Picks
Boko Haram Kills 40 Chadian Soldiers During Raid: An overnight attack by the jihadist group Boko Haram resulted in the deaths of about 40 Chadian troops near the Nigerian border. In response, the government and local sources reported that the army had launched an operation to track down the militants.
555 Victims Of Jungle Justice Recorded In Nigeria In 10 Years — Amnesty International: Amnesty International, a global human rights group, is worried about the rise in mob violence in Nigeria, saying it’s creating a situation where people think they can do whatever they want without facing any consequences.
If you enjoyed this edition of the newsletter, don’t forget to subscribe and share. You can also leave feedback for us in the comments or by filling out this form.