Labour Unionism and the Ivory Tower Relay Race

CampusDialog Special May Day Edition 2

Strike Watch 2026: What ASUU, ASUP, COEASU Are Negotiating Now


Today is May Day. Tomorrow, the gates close. Again.

As Nigerian workers march for dignity across the nation today, the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of university unions made up of SSANU, NAAT, and NASU has declared a total, indefinite strike starting tomorrow, May 1, 2026.

The timing is not ironic. It is tragic.

On Workers’ Day, the workers of our universities are walking out. And CampusDialog asks the only question that matters:

When will strike, as if it’s a relay race, end in our Ivory Towers?


 1. Strike Watch 2026: The Current Baton Holders

Labour unionism in Nigerian higher education has become a relay race. One union sprints, gets tired, and hands the baton to the next. The students are the track. They never finish the race.

Here is who is holding the baton right now:

A. JAC – SSANU, NAAT, NASU: Strike Begins May 1, 2026

The non-teaching unions have had enough. Their demands:

  1. Withheld salaries – 4 months from the 2022 strike, still unpaid

  2. 2009 FGN/University Unions Agreement – 17 years later, renegotiated but not implemented

  3. Earned allowances – ₦50 billion owed to technologists, administrative staff, and professionals

  4. Usurpation of university powers – IPPIS still deducting without remitting check-off dues

Impact: No records, no labs, no power, no water, no admissions. The engine room of the university shuts down tomorrow.


B. ASUU – At the Negotiation Table, For Now

The Academic Staff Union of Universities is not on strike today. They are negotiating. But the issues are familiar:

  1. UTAS vs IPPIS – Four years after UTAS was tested and passed, FG still uses IPPIS

  2. Revitalization fund – ₦1.3 trillion balance from the 2013 MoU remains untouched

  3. Withheld salaries – 7 months from 2022; President Tinubu paid 4, 3 still outstanding

  4. 26% budgetary allocation – UNESCO benchmark ignored; the 2026 budget gave education 7.1%

ASUU’s warning: “We are at the table. But if the government grandstands, we pick up the baton JAC drops.”


C. ASUP – Polytechnic Lecturers on Yellow Card

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics gave the Federal Government a 21-day ultimatum on April 10. It expires May 1.

Their grievances: CONTISS 15 arrears, Scheme of Service issues, and Polytechnic Act amendment.

If JAC starts tomorrow and ASUU joins next month, ASUP says they will run the third leg.


D. COEASU – Colleges of Education Warming Up

The Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union wants a retirement age of 65 and full implementation of the dual mandate.

They are watching the track, boots laced.


The Pattern Since 1999

ASUU runs. Hands to SSANU. Hands to NASU. Hands to NAAT. Hands to ASUP. Hands to COEASU. Back to ASUU.

27 years. Same track. No medal. Only casualties.


2. May Day Then vs May Day Now: The Broken Promise of Labour Unionism

May Day was born from the Haymarket Affair of 1886 - workers died for an 8-hour workday. Nigerian labour unionism was born from resistance - Udoji Awards, “Ali Must Go,” anti-SAP protests.

The Ivory Tower unions were once noble. They fought military dictators. They defended academic freedom. They saved universities from being turned into barracks.

What happened?

The enemy changed. It is no longer soldiers with guns. It is civil servants with files.

Agreements are signed but not implemented. MoUs become MoUs- Memorandum of Understanding becomes Memorandum of Uselessness.

So unions adapted. Strike became the only “budget line” the Federal Government respects.

You don’t strike, you don’t get paid. You strike, you get four months out of eight.

It is a perverse incentive. It is a relay race because the prize is survival, not victory.


3. The Cost of the Relay: Who Really Loses?

Let us count the bodies on the track:

  1. The Student – The 2017 admission set in most federal and state universities is still in 400 level. Their mates in ABUAD, Covenant, and Babcock graduated in 2021. Their mates in Ghana graduated in 2022. Age is now a disqualification in job markets.

  2. The Parent – Paying six or more years’ rent for a four-year course. Feeding a “student” who is home learning tailoring. Watching hope deferred until the heart is sick.

  3. The Nation – NBTE says 60% of HND holders from 2020–2025 cannot defend their projects. They forgot. Strike broke the learning curve.

  4. The Lecturer – A professor earns about ₦500,000. His salary is withheld for seven months. He drives Uber at night. The classroom is empty, but the market is not. Brain drain is no longer just to Canada it is to private universities.

JAC’s strike tomorrow does not punish the Minister. His children are in London. It punishes the gateman’s child in Ekpoma who just gained admission.


4. Why ABUAD, Covenant, and Babcock Are Not Running This Race

This May Day, ask the hard question: Why do private universities not go on strike?

  1. Afe Babalola University – 15 years, zero days lost to strike

  2. Covenant University – 24 years, zero days lost

  3. Babcock University – 27 years, zero days lost

Are their staff not unionized? They are not.
Are their staff not Nigerian? They are.
Do they not have demands? They do.

The difference: Governance.
In ABUAD, a signed agreement is implemented within 30 days. In federal universities, a signed agreement is “noted for implementation” for 17 years.

The difference: Trust.
Private university staff trust management will not lie. Public university unions expect that government will.

The difference: Consequence.
If a Vice-Chancellor breaches an agreement, the Chancellor acts. If a Minister breaches one, he may be promoted.


5. How to Drop the Baton: CampusDialog’s May Day Accord

The relay race ends when we change the rules.

For Government:

  1. Legislate implementation timelines – Every MoU must have a budget code and automatic release clause

  2. Exit IPPIS – Approve UTAS and U3PS; allow universities to manage their payroll

  3. Criminalize withheld salaries – Treat non-payment after work is done as wage theft

For Unions – ASUU, JAC, ASUP, COEASU:

  1. Merge strike calendars – One united front is stronger than staggered strikes

  2. Publish accounts – Transparency strengthens legitimacy

  3. Adopt internal grievance systems – Reduce reliance on strikes

For Students and Parents:

  1. Class action – Treat prolonged disruption as educational negligence

  2. Rank universities by strike days – Let market forces influence choices


6. Final Word: This May Day, Bury the Baton

Labour unionism gave us the weekend. It gave us pensions. It gave us leave allowances. It is noble.

But in our Ivory Towers, unionism without sincerity from government and strike without strategy from unions has become a funeral march.

JAC starts tomorrow, May 1, 2026. The baton is in motion. ASUU is stretching. ASUP is on the blocks.

When will it end?

It ends when a President keeps his word.
It ends when a union wins implementation, not just attention.
It ends when we decide that the Nigerian student is not a baton to be passed, but a future to be protected.

Until then, Happy Workers’ Day.

To the workers marching today and the workers striking tomorrow
may the relay race end before we run out of runners.

Strike Watch 2026 – Live Dashboard (May 1, 2026)

UnionStatusNext Action          Students Affected
JAC (SSANU, NAAT, NASU)

    Strike declared

   Total shutdown May1 

    2.1 million

ASUU

   Negotiating

   NEC meeting May15    1.8 million

ASUP

   Ultimatum ends May1

   Possible strike May2

       650,000

COEASU   Watching

   Congress May 10

400,000

Share this. Tag the Minister of Education. Tag NLC. Tag the Presidency.

Because May Day 2027 must not meet us on this same track.



Ambrose Odiase, FIPMA, MANUPA, MAUA (UK)
Founding Editor, CampusDialog
CampusDialog May Day Special | May 1, 2026

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