A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF INCESSANT INDUSTRIAL ACTIONS AND THE IMPERATIVE FOR STRUCTURAL POLICY REFORM IN NIGERIA’S HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM (1999–2025)

Abstract

This study critically analyzes the chronic recurrence of industrial actions within Nigeria's higher education system from the return to democracy in 1999 to 2025, with a focus on the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and its tertiary union counterparts. The research frames these incessant strikes not as isolated labour disputes but as symptoms of deep, institutionalized pathology rooted in failures of governance and financing. Utilizing Social Contract Theory and Industrial Relations analysis, the paper argues that the crisis is perpetuated by the Federal Government's (FGN) systematic non-compliance with collective agreements, facilitated by its reliance on legally non-binding Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs). The resulting instability has devastating impacts, including severe academic discontinuity, profound psycho-social costs to students, and the acceleration of a high-skilled academic brain drain (the "Japa" syndrome), which jeopardizes Nigeria’s future human capital development. The paper concludes by proposing a structural policy shift, advocating for the legalization of collective agreements, the establishment of an Independent Public Sector Compensation Review Commission (IPCRC), and the implementation of autonomy paired with stringent accountability to institutionalize good faith and ensure sustainable peace.