Incentivise Professionals or Forget Development, Prof. Ikechukwu Tells FG
Jerry Adesewo, Abuja.
Public affairs analyst and scholar, Prof. Okey Ikechukwu, has called on the Federal Government to urgently meet the demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), insisting that without proper incentives for professionals, Nigeria cannot achieve meaningful development.
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Prof. Ikechukwu made this assertion on Thursday during the Christopher Okigbo Commemorative Event held at the United Nations House, Abuja, to celebrate the inclusion of the late poet in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register, where he delivered the Keynote Address.
Speaking against the backdrop of ASUU’s latest warning strike and nationwide rallies, Ikechukwu said the prolonged neglect of agreements between the union and government was not only undermining the quality of education but also eroding the morale of Nigerian academics.
“The demands of ASUU should be attended to 100 percent,” he declared. “If you don’t incentivise professionals, there cannot be development. A nation cannot rise above the quality of its teachers and thinkers.”
The comment comes as ASUU has given the government until August 28, 2025, to take decisive action or risk the “mother of all strikes,” a move that could once again cripple academic activities nationwide.
At the commemorative event, which celebrated the life and works of poet Christopher Okigbo, Prof. Ikechukwu connected the role of intellectuals in shaping national identity with the need to protect and empower today’s academic workforce.
“Okigbo’s generation saw knowledge as service to nationhood. Today, if our teachers cannot live in dignity, if our universities cannot function, then we have betrayed that vision,” he added.
Stakeholders at the event, featured a panel session on the importance of inclusion, as the only individual from Africa, in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register with the likes of Jahman Anikulapo, Obi Asika, Prof. Ogaga Ifowodo and Prof. Okuyade, echoed his sentiments, warning that Nigeria risks falling further behind in global competitiveness if education continues to be underfunded.
Incentivise Professionals or Forget Development, Prof. Ikechukwu Tells FG