Pay 120,000 Naira As Minimum Wage, Emulate Other African Countries -Lawyer tells Tinubu

A Nigerian lawyer, Femi Emmanuel Emodamori, has called for a minimum wage of N120,000 per month, citing international standards and the country’s economic reality.

He made this statement in support of the ongoing industrial strike by the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress.

Emodamori argued that paying Nigerian workers a minimum wage of less than N120,000 per month is equivalent to treating them worse than prisoners, who are fed N1,000 daily.

He noted that a worker with a family needs at least N4,000 daily (N120,000 monthly) to feed their family, excluding other expenses like rent, transportation, and utilities.

The lawyer cited Article 23(3) of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that everyone has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring an existence worthy of human dignity. He also highlighted that several African countries, including Seychelles, Libya, Morocco, Gabon, South Africa, Mauritius, and Equatorial Guinea, pay their workers a minimum wage of at least three times higher than Nigeria’s proposed N60,000.

Emodamori rejected the federal government’s offer of N60,000 as “pathetically humiliating” and “perpetuation of servitude.” He expressed solidarity with Nigerian workers and urged them to continue their strike until a tangible result is achieved.

In a statement, Emodamori said, “In August 2023, I published a statement which was widely reported on local and international platforms, that paying the Nigerian workers any minimum wage less than N120,000 per month is tantamount to treating them worse than the Nigerian prisoners, each of whom the Government claims to be feeding with N1,000 daily since 2021, following the approval by the Senate Committee on Interior on October 27, 2021 to increase the daily feeding allowance of each of the inmates from N450 to N1,000.

“My simple analogy is that if a prisoner who pays no rent, transport fare, medical bills and other utilities is fed with N1000 daily, then a man with a wife and just two children would need N4,000 daily (translating to N120,000 monthly) to feed his family the same portion or ration given to the prisoners. This excludes other necessary bills which the worker must contend with, like rent (accommodation), transportation, other numerous utilities, and the education of his children.

“Article 23(3) of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights expressly provides that: ‘Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by means of social protection.’ Every worker therefore deserves a decent wage.

“I am not oblivious of the current economic challenges foisted on the nation by a seemingly hereditary culture of incompetence and kleptomania amongst the political leaders, and the fact that the current administration inherited the bulk of the resultant effects of these monstrous vices.

“Nevertheless, the N60,000 minimum wage offer by the Federal Government is pathetically humiliating. It is nothing other than perpetuation of servitude. No worker can live any meaningful life with that. It translates to just $43. There are numerous other African Countries that pay at least three times higher than the N60,000.

“Seychelles pays $456 (N638,400), Libya pays $322 (about N450,000); Morocco pays $315 (about N441,000); Gabon is paying $256 (about N358,400); South Africa is paying $242 (about N338,000), Mauritius is paying $240 (about N336,000) and Equatorial Guinea is paying $200 (about N280,000).

“I do not subscribe to the simplistic argument that paying our workers a meager minimum wage of at least N120,000 would lead to massive inflation and economic chaos. If the hundreds of billions which our fantastically corrupt politicians and top civil servants (to borrow the words of David Cameron- the former British Prime Minister) are stealing and spending on non-productive ventures like porsche cars, jewelries and flamboyant parties does not lead to inflation, paying a minimum wage of N120,000 to the economically suffocated workers would not, either.

“I therefore join the millions of our distressed, disrespected and disenchanted Nigerian workers to reject the N60,000 minimum wage being offered by the Government.

“I also express my solidarity with the Nigerian workers over the ongoing strike. While the parties must resume dialogue and consider the need to temporarily call off theThere was a problem generating a response. Please try again later.

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