The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Abuja Zone has revealed that several university lecturers have died as a result of the economic challenges currently bedeviling the country.

The union’s zonal coordinator for Abuja, Salahu Muhammad, announced in a statement that the it had lost several professors at various universities, including Ibrahim Babangida University, Lapai; Federal University of Technology, Minna; Federal University, Lafia; and Nasarawa State University, Nasarawa.

He lamented that over the past ten years, an increasing number of Nigerian academics have left the nation in search of better opportunities abroad.

Muhammad revealed that patriotic academics who choose to stay behind are overworked and losing their patriotism owing to low pay and working circumstances.

He said, “It is also worthy of note that the union has lost several members during the period under review due to herculean working conditions, psychological and emotional stress, and diseases related to these conditions. For instance, universities in the Abuja zone have lost 46 members.

“Just two days ago, the union lost an eminent Professor of Fisheries, Johnson Oyero, of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, due to his inability to afford a quality medical facility.”

His remark comes as Nigerians continue to endure the consequences of President Bola Tinubu’s decision to eliminate fuel subsidy, as well as the naira’s relentless drop in the foreign exchange market.

Nigerians have continued to hold protests across the country to express their dissatisfaction with President Tinubu’s economic policies, which have thrown the country into unprecedented suffering.