Muhammad Hassan Sale: The disappearance of an academic: one death too many

On Tuesday, February 10, 2026, as I stepped out of my official car at the university clinic, the solemn eyes of the crowd were fixed on me, full of unspoken questions. Why did the cold hand of death take away Muhammad Hassan Sale, Lecturer II, gentleman and promising hard-working academician of the Department of Agronomy? What will happen to his breastfeeding wife and their two young children?

Just two hours earlier, Sale and his wife had left the house together; she was rushing to the hospital for postnatal immunization, while he rushed to catch a university bus headed over 60 kilometers away to get to work, unaware of the tragedy that awaited his family. Inside the bus he was sitting comfortably, but he soon started panting.

The driver headed to the university clinic to receive immediate medical attention. As usual, the director of University Health Services called me to inform me of Sale’s emergency, assuring me that they were doing their best to revive him. I promised to stop by the clinic to check on his condition. Moments later, I received another call informing me that Sale had died and that the family needed to be notified. I confirmed that we were on our way to the clinic.

Upon my arrival, I was greeted by the director and a senior professor from Sale’s department, along with several other staff members. They looked at me, waiting for guidance on next steps. Delivering the news of death requires a unique strategy, especially when it strikes suddenly, as in this case.

Standing before Sale’s lifeless body, professionally wrapped in cloth, I couldn’t bring myself to pull it away and see his face. I could only offer sincere prayers for Allah’s mercy and forgiveness for our deceased young colleague. Sale was only 38 years old; he had entered the university after military service and had dutifully served as the exams officer for his department. At the time of his death, he had worked tirelessly to compile his first semester exam results in time for the upcoming Senate meeting.

The alarming trend of academic deaths was evident at the February 2026 NEC meeting of the Academic Staff Union of Universities in Abuja, where nearly 50 deaths were recorded between November 10, 2025 and February 6, 2026, in less than three months. A similar number had been reported in the third quarter of 2025. Some academics died due to prolonged illnesses, while others died suddenly at home, even while eating.

Although death is a necessary end and every soul must eventually face it, the frequency and spatial distribution of these deaths requires examination. What could be due to this disturbing phenomenon?

Although each person dies at the appointed time, the causes behind these deaths are different. However, an overwhelming academic workload, which includes teaching assignments, endless marking, pressure to publish, looming research deadlines, committee responsibilities, program accreditation exercises, administrative meetings, external exams, community obligations, and prevailing economic hardships, greatly contributes to burnout, ultimately leading to fatal outcomes.

The academic workload is the engine room of the university system, affected by benchmarking and global standardization. A dysfunctional university system produces unprepared professionals who struggle to manage the affairs of society, with disastrous consequences that could push the nation into an abyss of insecurity, squalor and poverty.

The university system is critical to nation building, fostering innovation, strong governance, infrastructure development, successful foreign policy, increased productivity, and almost every aspect of human flourishing. Cultivate leaders who can navigate and overcome barriers to social progress. Without a doubt, the Nigerian university system is designed in line with global best practices, enabling it to meet the needs and aspirations of society. Therefore, academics must prepare to face their responsibilities – teaching, research and community service – as part of their sacred duty.

What are the factors behind academic burnout and excessive workloads in Nigeria? First, a significant brain drain of senior academics over the past two decades has left remaining faculty to shoulder the increased workload. This brain drain, combined with industrial disharmony and low employability in the system, further exacerbates the strain on academics, many of whom convert their excessive responsibilities into “excess workload” for financial gain. While many love it endlessly, I hate hearing “excess workload” because it implies additional work for an already overloaded person. How ironic!

The importance of hiring more qualified staff cannot be overstated. Universities must recruit high-caliber intellectual talent to effectively fulfill their primary roles of teaching, research, and community service. University councils need to carefully examine existing statutes governing labor recruitment to resist external pressures seeking to recruit all available labor on the market. The objective should be exclusively to attract the best or, at least, the most capable graduates.

Second, many universities struggle with inadequate internally generated revenue (IGR), leaving them overly dependent on public funding. Strengthening the relationship between industries and universities is essential to promote research and innovation that increases industrial productivity and generates income. Some academics indulge in abstract research that has no relevance, given our low level of development and insufficient infrastructure. Why can’t our scholars develop research topics that directly address pressing social issues?

Collaborative research efforts among academics are currently weak, which only adds to the fatigue and stress that faculty members face. Joint efforts with a common purpose can produce remarkable results.

Third, our university system often resembles the civil service model, where hard work leads to greater responsibility, while underachievers can remain complacent. As diligent academics receive promotions and take on heavier workloads, the burden only intensifies, leading to stress and burnout. We must cultivate an environment in which every faculty member can contribute in a meaningful way. One possible solution is to improve the mentor-mentee system, in which senior academics, from senior lecturers onwards, would be required to supervise four to five mentees. Graduate assistants would be expected to work on tutorials, graduate programs, and other academic responsibilities under the rigorous guidance of their mentors, who would provide confidential annual performance evaluations.

Such assessments could inform decisions about whether junior academics should remain or be encouraged to withdraw from the university system, or even forced to leave their posts, thus ensuring the development of future leaders within academia. I wish we could do that. This is a policy memorandum for university councils in Nigeria.

We must actively work to reduce stress, learn to relax, share responsibilities when possible, seek regular medical care, support each other, and advocate for more humane working hours and better working conditions.

Finally, it is encouraging to note that relative peace and a stable academic calendar have returned to university campuses after more than a decade of unrest and unrest caused by ASUU and other university unions. This positive development is due to the willingness to listen of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the willingness of labor leaders to resolve contentious issues through compromise and the dedicated efforts of the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, together with Mallam Yayale Ahmed and his competent team. As I mourn our departed colleagues and pray for their souls to rest in peace, I urge all stakeholders to work together to address the growing number of deaths among academics.

Stop pressing. As I submit this piece, I received the shocking news of the death of two of our staff members yesterday, March 2, 2026. May Allah accept their souls in Aljanna Firdausi and give us the fortitude to bear their loss. Amen.