Living Wage For Nigerian Workers

The question of a living wage for workers in Nigeria will linger for a long time to come given that (just like so many other issues bothering our beleaguered nation) the issue is yet to be definitively addressed. The wages paid across the various branches of public service – the civil service, the teaching profession, the military, the police, paramilitary organisations, and other services – are nothing to write home about. Even though some categories of workers are far better off in terms of take home, no average Nigerian worker can comfortably rely on their wages for a decent living. Instructively, the workers have never had it worse than today given the hyper-inflation that has greeted the neo-liberal economic policies of the successive Nigerian governments, with the climax being the total removal of fuel subsidy and floating of the naira by the current administration of President Bola Tinubu.

This policy direction, though defended as necessary for economic reform, has deepened the cost-of-living crisis for the average Nigerian worker. Transportation, food, housing, and healthcare costs have all risen steeply beyond the reach of the ordinary earner, yet wage structures have almost remained stagnant. The paradox is striking: those who sustain the machinery of government and the economy are the ones who can barely afford a decent life. Nigeria’s political leadership has repeatedly failed to treat workers’ wages as a central issue of governance. Instead, the dominant narrative has focused on increasing productivity, attracting investment, and creating wealth, with little or no attention to how that wealth is distributed. This has led to an economy where a few accumulate massive wealth while millions of workers wallow in deprivation.

For instance, in the last general election, all the three major presidential candidates stated that they would remove fuel subsidy if elected, yet none tied that policy to wage adjustments for workers who would bear the brunt of rising costs. Their emphasis was on how subsidy removal would free up funds for capital projects. This reflects a governance philosophy that regards workers’ welfare as secondary, if not irrelevant. The Nigerian state has become steeped in capitalist values which priortise profit over people. Within this framework, workers’ remuneration is seen as a liability rather than an investment in human capital. Capitalism often treats wages as a “negative variable,” something to be minimized in the pursuit of profit. Thus, workforce downsizing or wage stagnation is easily justified whenever revenues decline. This mindset explains why the average worker earns a salary that barely covers transportation to work.

There are strong economic and moral reasons why paying Nigerian workers realistic wages should be treated as a key governance priority and a major subject of discourse at every election. Decent wages put more disposable income in the hands of ordinary citizens, who in turn stimulate local economies through their spending. A well-paid worker buys more goods and services, which boosts small and medium enterprises, expands tax revenue, and drives local productivity. Conversely, the extravagant spending patterns of political elites who receive humongous wages and other entitlements have minimal impact on the grassroots economy. They do not buy from that groundnut seller in the street, or patronize the roadside carpenter for their furniture, or eat at a “mama put” joint in the street. Rather, their spending pattern is elitist; when they need furniture they patronise the plush furniture showrooms in the highbrow areas of Abuja and Lagos, when they want to eat they go to the exquisite eateries, and when they want to shop they move to the big malls, or still, fly to Dubai to do so. Their spending is not downwards but upwards, so marginalises the grassroots and undermines distribution of wealth. As a result, while the elite thrive in abundance, small businesses that depend on ordinary consumers struggle to survive, deepening the inequality gap and breeding frustration among the working class.

At this time when fuel subsidy has been removed, paying correspondingly higher wages to workers makes a lot of economic sense. Transporters, traders, and service providers have all raised prices to offset rising operational costs. Yet, government workers – who make up a significant portion of consumers – remain trapped in stagnant pay structures, thus reducing their capacity to patronize these businesse. Keeping the workers at the same pay level – or raising their pay to a level that is far from being commensurate with the rate at which prices have risen as government has done – is one way of killing productivity and further destroying the economy, as businesses are starved of patronage by a wage system that has failed to respond to the realities of rising prices. A government that is truly alive to its responsibility would understand that wage stagnation is not prudence – it is self-sabotage. And this attitude is not limited to the Tinubu government; it has been a pattern down the years.

Another practical reason why paying reasonable wages should be a key governance agenda is its inevitable role in the fight against corruption. If we tell ourselves the truth, the pittance paid to police officers, customs officers, civil servants, and other categories of public workers cannot support their basic domestic expenses not to talk of offset other essential bills like education and health care. So, we would be deceiving ourselves believing that we can stop people from stealing and taking bribes just by mere proselytizing. For example, knowing the amount the rank and file of the police force take home monthly, whenever I see their operatives collecting money from motorists I cannot but imagine that this is the only way they can realistically survive – tragic.

The most unfortunate thing is that when corruption becomes the only practical way of survival, it tends to become normalized, seen less as evil and more as a smart strategy of survival. Fighting corruption without addressing poor wages is like treating symptoms while ignoring the disease; a fair wage policy is, in truth, an anti-corruption strategy.

Also, beyond economics, the issue of wages touches the very heart of justice. The modern state exists, among other purposes, to ensure equity in the distribution of resources and opportunities. Capitalism has given us a world where there is so much wealth, yet so much poverty, as most of the wealth is concentrated in the hands of few. The state must intervene to correct this imbalance. Fair wages are a practical means of redistributing wealth in a manner that preserves dignity and stability. It affirms that workers deserve a fair share of the national wealth they help to create. Any government that ignores this moral obligation risks losing legitimacy in the eyes of its citizens.

However, the push for better wages has met a relentlessly push back from successive Nigerian governments. The often repeated argument is that the nation cannot pay higher wages because there are no resources. We don’t have to own all the resources to be able to pay reasonable wages if our governance philosophy has prioritized that. So much is being spent servicing the greed of few persons in power including our legislators and past leaders at the federal and state levels whose so-called pensions and other post-service entitlements are draining the nation to the tune of billions of naira yearly. Similarly, millions are unnecessarily spent daily on government businesses by way of humongous hotel bills, travels, and estacodes when these engagements can be successfully executed at lower costs. In his book WITNESS TO JUSTICE: AN INSIDER ACCOUNT OF NIGERIA’S TRUTH COMMISSION (2011, Ibadan, Book Craft), Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah recalled how the chairman of the Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission, Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, rejected and refused to move into a presidential suite secured for him at Abuja Sheraton Hotel for the reason that it was “too exquisite and expensive.” For context, such a suite today would cost between 1 million and 1.5 million per night. A man of modesty and principles, Oputa rejected such unnecessary expenses that would see him live for months in an apartment that had several spaces he would never use. However, what was more unfortunate was the official response to his protest which bordered on indifference (see pg. 69). (Of course, nobody would have expected civil servants and other officials to be happy with Oputa’s rejection as they always make fortune from such official profligacy).

Similarly, millions are lost every day to corruption – from the presidency to the least office in the local government civil service. Imagine how much all this can contribute towards making workers’ wages more reasonable. I remember how a civil servant I used to know in Anambra (who is now late) was spending so much money that one had to shrug at the level of thievery going on in our public sector. He was said to be working at the office of the state accountant general and as at then (around 2012 – 2014), his pay was not up to fifty thousand naira monthly. However, he had multiple cars, was building a gigantic house, and was spending thousands of naira daily buying drinks and food for people at one eatery where I usually met him close to my workplace then. I must confess I benefitted from his generosity not once. But then I couldn’t stop wondering how much millions this civil servant and many others would be stealing and how much everybody’s pay would be raised if such funds are conserved and redistributed through wages.

The greatest obstacle to a living wage in Nigeria, therefore, is not lack of resources but lack of political will. It is a problem of governance philosophy. Successive governments have not seen fair wages as a developmental imperative. Instead, they respond only under pressure, typically after strikes or public outcry. Otherwise, why would it require strikes by the NLC for government to know that wages ought to be increased once subsidy was removed? Wage review should be automatic whenever inflation rises or major policies, such as subsidy removal, alter living conditions. Unfortunately, Nigeria’s ruling elite remain trapped in a neoliberal mindset that prioritizes fiscal conservatism over human welfare. A shift in ideology coupled with a strong commitment on the part of the ruling class will reverse the trend and effectively position us on the path to achieving a state where equity and economic justice are cardinal principles, leading to happiness for all citizens. It is time to make fair wages a leading issue in our national discourse. Let all the stakeholders gather at the discussion table!
Henry Chigozie Duru, PhD, teaches journalism and mass communication at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria.