The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has strongly opposed the Federal Government’s plan to establish a United Kingdom university campus in Nigeria, describing the move as unacceptable and vowing to resist its implementation.
ASUU President, Chris Piwuna, made the union’s position known on Thursday during a public lecture organised by the Sa’adu Zungur University branch of ASUU in Bauchi.
Piwuna revealed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, during a recent state visit to the United Kingdom, signed an agreement that includes plans to establish a Nigerian campus of Coventry University.
He criticised the development, describing it as an attempt to “re-colonise” Nigeria’s education sector, while questioning the rationale behind inviting a foreign institution facing financial challenges.
According to him, Coventry University is currently dealing with a reported £58 million deficit and declining enrolment of African students, alongside cost-cutting measures expected to reach £100 million over the next two years.
“They deny Nigerians visas to study abroad, yet they want to come here and take our money,” Piwuna said.
The ASUU president further argued that the move contradicts the Federal Government’s existing moratorium on the establishment of new universities, insisting that the union would resist any aspect of the agreement related to education.
“This will not stand. We are going to resist it,” he declared.
Despite his criticism, Piwuna commended the Vice-Chancellor of Sa’adu Zungur University, Professor Fatima Tahir, for implementing the new salary structure for staff, describing the effort as commendable.
The lecture, which focused on academic responsibility and entrepreneurship, featured presentations by Suleiman Abdullahi Karwai of the Department of Business Administration, Ahmadu Bello University, and Abubakar Sadiq Usman of the Centre for Entrepreneurship Studies, Gombe State University.
In his presentation, Karwai urged lecturers to build sustainable income streams alongside their academic careers.
“No lecturer should be poor. There are legitimate ventures that can complement academic work without compromising it,” he said.
He encouraged academics to explore opportunities such as shareholding, real estate investment, publishing and consultancy, noting that many professionals are already leveraging such avenues to achieve financial stability.
The development highlights growing tensions between the Federal Government and university lecturers over policy direction in Nigeria’s higher education sector.
ELIJAH ADEYEMI
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