By Thanny Noeem Taiwo, PhD
The moccasin is a unique kind of shoe. It usually features a softly stitched sole, often adorned with embroidery to show elegance, yet it remains rugged enough to withstand adverse weather. It was a brilliant piece of literary art when Mary T. Lathrap used the moccasin as an analogy for empathy in her 1895 poem, “Judge Softly”, popularizing the phrase “walking a mile in another man’s moccasins.”
Empathy defines a profound understanding of someone else’s life, struggles, and viewpoint. While sympathy connotes simple pity, empathy demands a deeper engagement. It calls for walking the thorny path an individual has trodden before judging their actions. Sometimes, these actions may appear insensitive or inconsiderate, but they are often necessary under the circumstances.
Academic staff at Lagos State University (LASU) and its sister institutions —Lagos State University of Education (LASUED) and Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH)—have become like offspring of the most influential parent in town. Their situation resembles that of legitimate children born to a wealthy, generous father who bestows lavish social welfare upon the community. Yet, these children are expected to watch their father take care of everyone else, even display profligacy, while accepting that they must go to bed hungry and walk around in shredded attire.
When they ask the simple question, “What is wrong with our father?” They are told to be quiet.
The latest round of friction stems from the efforts of the Lagos State Government —through officials in the Ministry of Establishments, Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Tertiary Education —to renegotiate an agreement that took over a decade to reach. The 2025 FGN/ASUU Agreement was the result of collective bargaining involving all major stakeholders, including the National Universities Commission (NUC), the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, the Federal Ministry of Education, and representatives of Governing Council Chairmen (Pro-Chancellors) of state universities.
To the chagrin of every committed university teacher in Lagos, the state government maintains an unbothered posture, comfortably sitting on a powder keg while less buoyant states like Ekiti, Osun, and Ogun swiftly acted to demonstrate their commitment to tertiary education. This lack of proactive engagement and problem-solving proficiency has become typical. There is a clear tendency to kick the can down the road, hoping the issues will somehow resolve themselves. The evidence is scattered everywhere.
For nearly five years, the Visitor has refused to act on the Visitation Panel report, which could resolve numerous labour and management issues that successive Vice-Chancellors have faced. Consequently, the fate of five academic staff members—who were union leaders—remains hanging in perpetuity. Conducting a visitation is the statutory responsibility of a Visitor; leaving its findings unaddressed over an eight-year tenure is nothing short of deliberate nonfeasance.
The handling of the 25% and 35% salary adjustments, negotiated and announced under the Buhari administration, is another testimony to a calculated attempt to frustrate university lecturers. After twenty-three months of delayed implementation, the state government insisted on paying only twelve months of the accrued arrears. Negotiators were allegedly arm-twisted at the bargaining table using every trick in the book.
Living and working in Lagos comes with immense financial strain. Rent alone is nearly 300% higher than in most other Nigerian cities. It is exasperating that a state government generating nearly four trillion naira in revenue is negotiating to pay its university workers less than less-endowed states. To borrow Gen Z slang: “the math is just not mathing.”
To put the suffering of Lagos university teachers into perspective. As I was writing this piece, I received the devastating news of the passing of a colleague—a department head at the university. His death, like several others in recent times, reflects the underlying toll of acute stress. At least five academic staff members are currently struggling with stress-induced strokes. This is the fate of hardworking lecturers in Lagos State who have poured their sweat and blood into elevating these institutions to enviable heights. They are often forced to cofuel vehicles just to get to work, despite a monthly takehome pay that barely carries them home.
Retired professors fare no better. Many struggle to afford essential medications for various geriatric ailments. Individuals who sacrificed their most productive years to the university deserve far better care. For any discerning society, caring for the elderly is paramount. The lyrics of the late Sakara maestro, Yusuf Olatunji (Baba Legba), keep echoing in my head: “E ma ba agba je, bo’ya a kan ni lo’la” [may the Almighty prevent our leaders from treating the elders like discarded husks (apeepo l’eyin agba).]
The moccasins worn by Lagos lecturers are severely weatherbeaten. They show obvious signs of neglect and abuse. If they finally tear completely after years of strain, it will not only be the wearers who suffer;the entire system they have served so diligently may collapse with them.
* Thanny, Noeem Taiwo, PhD is the Secretary ASUU-LASU Steering Committee
