At the heart of Nigeria’s military regime in 1978, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) was born. In a season of dictatorship, economic hardship, and political repression, ASUU emerged young, radical, and idealistic — animated by the conviction that the university must serve the public good rather than the interests of the ruling class. Unlike its predecessors, the Association of University Teachers (AUT) and the National Association of University Teachers (NAUT), which were largely conservative and aligned with state authority, ASUU was not afraid to challenge power directly. It sought to make the university a sanctuary for truth, dissent, and social progress, even at the risk of persecution.