By Ayodele Oni
Unions in Tertiary Institutions owned by the Ondo state government are currently on strike following failure of State Government to address their demands.
Leadership of the Unions which include the members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU); Non-Academic Staff Union ((NASU); National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP) in Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa; University of Medical Sciences, Ondo and Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo has directed members to proceed on the 14-Day Warning Strike with immediate effect.
The unions wrote in their letter to government that “Having realised that the State Government is playing politics with our lives and the lives of our children in all the state owned institutions as well as Tertiary Education Sector in Ondo State, we have no other alternative than to direct our members to embark on a 14-DAY WARNING STRIKE (at first instance) with effect from 12:00 midnight of Thursday, 19th June, 2025.
“Kindly note that the 14-Day Warning Strike shall be total, hence, no concession is given to any of our members to perform any official duties during the period of this warning strike and any of our members found in their offices during this warning strike shall be seen as saboteurs and shall be treated as such.
“We hereby appeal to all the stakeholders in Ondo State especially the political leaders, traditional rulers and religious leaders to kindly intervene in this issue before it snowball into total shutdown of academic activities in all the institutions in Ondo State. Aluta continua, Victoria Ascerta!”
Meanwhile, a renowned scholar in Educational Management, Prof. Akinrotimi Oyetakin, has raised serious concerns over the widening gap between the rising cost of tertiary education and declining funding from government and stakeholders, describing the situation as a “dangerous financial disequilibrium.”
Delivering the 42nd Inaugural Lecture of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, titled “Cost Explosion and Expenditure Implosion of Tertiary Education: Equilibrium Heresies in Motion”, Prof. Oyetakin noted that while Nigeria continues to invest in education, the funding remains grossly inadequate to meet the demands of modern tertiary institutions.
He observed that while Nigeria has continued to invest in education, the efforts remain grossly insufficient in matching the financial demands of modern-day tertiary education.
He emphasised that sustaining quality education demands a collective financial commitment guided by the principles of fiscal justice and benefiter-pay ideology.
Prof. Oyetakin said, “There are no free meals anywhere in the world. Free education, in its real sense, is not free. Someone somewhere pays for it.
“Therefore, based on the benefiter-pay principle and the tenets of fiscal justice, every stakeholder must contribute meaningfully to funding education.”
He proposed a recalibration of Nigeria’s educational funding structure to restore equilibrium and avert a systemic collapse.
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