LAGOS -Some Lagos-based university lecturers have expressed dissatisfaction with the request by a professor that university professors earn at par with the Supreme Court judges.

The President of the Association of Nigerian Professors (ANP), Prof. Spencer Efem, had made the request last week during a visit to the Education Minister, Dr Igwe Aja-Nwachukwu.

Some lecturers, who spoke to newsmen said that professors’ salaries should not be compared with those of the Supreme Court judges.

Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, a former lecturer in the University of Lagos, said, “Professors should be well paid for all the work they do but their pay package should not be tied to that of the Supreme Court judges.
“I think that Supreme Court judges are poorly paid so it should not be the benchmark for the payment of Nigerian professors.

“ Professors should be paid based on the enormous work they do or are expected to do.”
Osinbajo, also a former Attorney-General in Lagos State, advised that, if there was a need for any comparison, the salary structure of Nigerian professors should be compared with that of other professors in other nations.

He regretted that professors in Botswana and Zambia were better paid than their counterparts in Nigeria.

A law lecturer at University of Lagos, Prof. Gbemisola Mowoe told newsmen that there was the need to review upward the salaries of all categories of university teachers.

“I think that ASUU is talking with the government on improving the pay package of all academic staff of Nigerian universities, so we should wait for the outcome,” she said.

She said the formation of an association different from ASUU was not healthy for university teachers’ unionism.

“We should not fragment ASUU; if any of us has a legitimate request, he should channel it through ASUU. We should wait and see the outcome of ASUU’s talks with the government, she advised.

She expressed fear that the formation of ANP might stir associate professors, senior lecturers and some other lecturers to form separate unions.

A law lecturer in the Lagos State University, Mr. Gbenga Ojo, told newmen that university teachers’ pay package had been inadequate, claiming that a senior lecturer earned less than a banker.

He said that the poor remuneration in the university system was responsible for brain drain.

Ojo argued that if well paid, the lecturers would be more dedicated to producing quality graduates, who would contribute meaningfully to societal development.