Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has condemned the newly approved N70,000 minimum wage, describing it as grossly inadequate to meet workers’ basic needs, including transportation, food, and housing.
Obasanjo also accused labour leaders of betraying workers by prioritizing personal interests over their collective welfare.
“That is the situation in Nigeria in the third decade of the 21st century.
The minimum wage does not even cover transportation costs for some workers, let alone food, housing, and family upkeep,” he wrote in his newly released book, Nigeria: Past and Future.
In Chapter 17 of the book, Obasanjo criticized labour leaders for neglecting their responsibilities while pursuing personal political ambitions.
“Workers need more attention than they are getting. It is their right, and they have been denied it for too long. They have become victims of those meant to protect their interests.
How did it happen that a trade union leader, while in office, was negotiating with a political party to be adopted as a gubernatorial candidate?
Because of their political ambitions, most union leaders are ineffective compared to the founding fathers’ expectations. The workers thereby become victims of selfish leaders who use their positions to achieve political heights.
Rather than negotiate in the interest of the workers, they engage in sabre-rattling, only to be called into a room where large sums of money are stuffed into their hands to silence them.
That has been the case since 2015. And, if anything, it is going from bad to worse.”
Obasanjo further criticized government officials who openly admitted to bribing labour leaders to suppress agitation.
“How do we explain a senior official close to the President saying, ‘We have paid them to keep quiet and stop agitating’?
What contributions are such labour leaders and their unions making to the country’s progress? You do not get the best from a frustrated and depressed worker.”
While acknowledging that anyone has the right to pursue politics, Obasanjo argued that it is unethical for labour leaders to use their unions as stepping stones for political advancement, as it creates a conflict of interest. He proposed enacting a law that would require labour leaders to wait at least five years after leaving office before engaging in politics.
On July 29, 2024, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the N70,000 minimum wage into law after finalizing negotiations with organized labour and the private sector on July 18. This marked the conclusion of months-long discussions, during which labour’s initial demand of N250,000 per month was reduced to N70,000.
Before this adjustment, Nigeria’s minimum wage stood at N33,000, which was signed into law by former President Muhammadu Buhari on April 18, 2019.
