The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has criticized the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for halting infrastructural projects in public universities since 2014, blaming the last two governors of the apex bank for neglecting tertiary institutions.
ASUU President, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, made these claims during an interview on the Channels Television program Inside Sources with Laolu Akande. According to him, the last time the CBN supported public universities with projects was during the tenure of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who served as the bank’s governor from 2009 to 2014.
“Since Sanusi left office, there has been no significant CBN intervention in any university. Sanusi used CBN funds to support infrastructural development in almost every federal university in Nigeria, but after his tenure, the contributions stopped,” Osodeke stated.
Sanusi’s Legacy of University Projects
Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who is now the Emir of Kano, was CBN governor between June 2009 and February 2014. During his time at the helm of the apex bank, he allocated significant funds towards infrastructural development in federal and state universities as part of the CBN’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Osodeke highlighted that most federal universities today have buildings funded by the CBN during Sanusi’s tenure. He pointed out that universities such as the University of Abuja, the University of Jos, and many others have major buildings funded by the CBN under Sanusi’s leadership.
“There’s no federal university today that doesn’t have a project done by Sanusi’s regime when he was CBN governor,” Osodeke said. “The biggest building in my university was funded by the CBN. It’s the same in Abuja, Jos, and several other places. Sanusi saw the importance of education and used the funds to address infrastructural needs in universities.”
Post-Sanusi Era: No Support from CBN
However, after Sanusi was removed from office in 2014, Osodeke claims that the CBN stopped supporting universities. He accused Godwin Emefiele, who succeeded Sanusi as CBN governor, and the current governor, Olayemi Cardoso, of failing to continue this initiative.
“Since Sanusi left, have you seen any project done by the CBN in any university? Zero,” Osodeke said. “Emefiele did not put a single project in any university during his time as governor, and now, a year into Cardoso’s tenure, we’ve seen nothing.”
Osodeke lamented that if Emefiele and Cardoso had followed in Sanusi’s footsteps, Nigerian public universities would not be facing such a severe infrastructural deficit. “If what Sanusi did when he was CBN governor was followed by other governors, we wouldn’t be talking about projects in universities today. But after Sanusi, that was the end of CBN’s involvement in universities,” he said.
Infrastructural Deficit in Nigerian Universities
The lack of adequate infrastructure has been a longstanding issue in Nigerian public universities. ASUU, as a union representing university lecturers, has frequently pointed to the government’s failure to fund education as a key reason for the poor state of facilities in the country’s higher institutions.
Overcrowded lecture halls, outdated laboratories, and insufficient accommodation for students have all contributed to the poor learning environment in many universities. ASUU has consistently gone on strike to demand increased funding for public universities, but despite some improvements, much more remains to be done.
Osodeke argued that the CBN’s intervention during Sanusi’s tenure showed what could be achieved with the right commitment and leadership. “When Sanusi was CBN governor, he used the funds to address some of these challenges. Today, we still see the impact of those projects in many universities across the country,” he said.
He added that the CBN has a role to play in addressing the funding gap in the education sector through its CSR programs. “There’s money available for community development through the CBN, but for some reason, after Sanusi left, that money has not been used for universities again,” he stated.
Calls for Action from Cardoso
ASUU’s president did not shy away from challenging the current CBN governor, Olayemi Cardoso, to follow Sanusi’s example. Cardoso, who has been in office for about a year, is yet to initiate any visible project in public universities, according to Osodeke.
“We should ask the current CBN governor: how did Sanusi generate that money to fund projects in federal and state universities? Why has Cardoso not done anything a year into his tenure?” Osodeke asked. He urged Cardoso to revive the CBN’s intervention in university projects, emphasizing that the funds are available.
“There’s a new person in charge now, and nobody is talking about the fund again. They call it Community Social Responsibility (CSR). The money is there. We need to ask why this fund is no longer being used to support our universities,” he added.
