Femi Emmanuel Emodamori, a Nigerian lawyer, asserted that N120,000 should be the minimum wage set by the government. In a statement issued on Monday, he expressed strong support for the ongoing industrial strike led by the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress.
Emodamori stated: “In August 2023, I noted that paying Nigerian workers a minimum wage less than N120,000 per month is akin to treating them worse than prisoners, who have been fed with N1,000 daily since 2021, after the Senate Committee on Interior increased the feeding allowance from N450 to N1,000 on October 27, 2021.
He explained that if a prisoner, who has no expenses for rent, transportation, medical bills, or utilities, is fed with N1,000 daily, then a worker supporting a family of four would need N4,000 daily (or N120,000 monthly) just to feed his family the same amount. This does not account for additional expenses like rent, transportation, utilities, and children’s education.
Article 23(3) of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights explicitly states: “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 deserves a decent wage.
He acknowledged the economic challenges caused by a culture of incompetence and corruption among political leaders, noting that the current administration inherited many of these issues.
Nevertheless, he criticized the Federal Government’s N60,000 minimum wage offer as humiliating, pointing out that it equates to just $43. He compared this to other African countries where the minimum wage is significantly higher: Seychelles pays $456 (N638,400), Libya pays $322 (about N450,000), Morocco pays $315 (about N441,000), Gabon pays $256 (about N358,400), South Africa pays $242 (about N338,000), Mauritius pays $240 (about N336,000), and Equatorial Guinea pays $200 (about N280,000).
He rejected the argument that a minimum wage of N120,000 would lead to massive inflation and economic chaos, noting that the extravagant spending by corrupt politicians has not caused such issues. Therefore, he supported Nigerian workers in rejecting the N60,000 minimum wage offer.
Emodamori also expressed solidarity with the Nigerian workers on strike, urging them to resume dialogue and consider temporarily calling off the strike for negotiations. However, he cautioned against ending the strike without achieving substantial results.