Obaba Museum

In August 1992, The Citizen newspaper carried a bold headline, “When Elephants Fight.” It captured the standoff between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government of Nigeria. More than three decades later (2025) the same script is being replayed. Only now, a third elephant has entered the field: the Congress of University Academics (CONUA).

Since its founding in 1978, ASUU has been at the centre of university activism in Nigeria. Its first strike in 1988 set the tone for a long tradition of confrontation between academics and the state. The goals have always been clear: fair pay, academic freedom, and improved university funding. The strategy, however, has remained unchanged (indefinite strikes that bring the entire system to a halt).

The 1992 crisis, which once dominated national headlines, reflected the same story we see today: a government reluctant to fulfil agreements and a union unwilling to change its approach. What is most painful, however, is that the true victims have always been the same; students whose academic lives are suspended in uncertainty.

Today, CONUA presents itself as a reformist alternative, distancing its members from ASUU’s constant strikes. It seems to speak the language of “dialogue” and “continuity” rather than confrontation. Whether this marks a genuine transformation or political posturing remains to be seen. Still, its rise reveals growing frustration within the academic community itself.

Forty years on, ASUU’s relevance is now questioned more than ever. Can a union remain the conscience of the university system if its methods continually harm those it claims to protect? The story of 1992 and 2025 may be separated by time, but the pattern is painfully similar.

As long as the elephants continue to fight, the grass (the students, their parents, and Nigeria’s fragile education system) will always bear the scars.