by Uchechukwu Okoroafor, Abuja
As Nigerian workers join the rest of the world to mark Workers Day on May 1, 2025, the air is not filled with celebration but with lamentation. Despite the recent increase in the minimum wage to N70,000 by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, Nigerian workers have little to cheer. What is tragically ironic is that the new wage, though numerically more than the N30,000 paid under former President Muhammadu Buhari just two years ago, is worth far less in real terms. It is a classic case of more money, less value.
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The Nigerian worker today earns more on paper but less in life. Inflation, exchange rate collapse, fuel subsidy removal, and the skyrocketing cost of food and essential commodities have eroded the purchasing power of every naira earned. The result? The new N70,000 minimum wage buys less rice, less transport, less electricity, and far less dignity than the N30,000 did under Buhari. This is not progress; it is deception.
The tragedy lies in the poor economic management of the Tinubu administration, which has failed to address the root causes of inflation and economic hardship. The free-floating of the naira, implemented without robust safeguards, has sent the local currency into a tailspin. From an exchange rate of N450 to the dollar two years ago, the naira now trades for over N1,500 to the dollar, making imported goods unaffordable and pushing local production costs to unbearable heights.
Food inflation is over 40%, transportation costs have tripled, and energy prices are beyond the reach of many. Yet, Nigerian workers are expected to survive, let alone thrive, on N70,000 monthly. The math does not add up, and neither does the morality. How can a government that spends billions on luxury SUVs for lawmakers, lavish overseas trips for officials, and unaccounted security votes justify asking workers to be grateful for crumbs?
Let us break down the numbers. In 2023, when the minimum wage was N30,000, a bag of rice sold for about N25,000. Today, that same bag sells for N75,000. A litre of petrol was N190, now it is over N700. The value of N70,000 today buys less than what N30,000 could purchase in 2023. For example, an average worker now spends over N30,000 monthly just on transport to and from work in major cities like Lagos and Abuja.
In real terms, Tinubu’s N70,000 wage is worth barely N20,000 when adjusted for inflation and currency devaluation. The cost of living has gone up by over 200%, but wages have not kept pace. This is economic cruelty disguised as reform.
As the working class struggles to feed their families, pay rent, transport themselves, and access healthcare, the political elite continue to enjoy state-funded extravagance. Ministers travel in luxury. Lawmakers earn millions in allowances monthly. State governors throw lavish parties in Europe and Dubai. Meanwhile, civil servants can’t afford basic medication, and teachers borrow money to get to work.
This is not just an economic failure—it is a moral one. A society that rewards its ruling class with luxury and its working class with misery is not a society at all; it is a machine for oppression. The Tinubu government must be reminded that no economy in the world grows sustainably on the back of an impoverished workforce.
Workers Day should be a time to celebrate the contribution of labour to national development. But in Nigeria today, it has become a day of mourning—mourning the death of hope, the decline of the naira, the shrinking of salaries, and the erosion of dignity.
Labour unions, professional bodies, and civil society organisations must rise above mere rhetoric and demand justice. It is not enough to march with placards and chant slogans. The time has come for a coordinated national action that forces the hand of the government to act in favour of the people. If workers are expected to power this country, then they deserve compensation that reflects their worth.
What Nigerian workers need is not a symbolic wage but a real living wage—one that covers basic human needs and allows for a decent standard of living. Economists and labour experts have calculated that, at current inflation levels, a sustainable minimum wage in Nigeria should be at least N150,000 per month.
This is not a utopian demand. Nigeria remains one of Africa’s largest economies, rich in oil, gas, and human capital. The issue is not scarcity but mismanagement and misallocation of resources. If funds can be found for lawmakers’ exotic cars, surely funds can be found for decent wages.
President Tinubu must accept responsibility for the economic hardship his policies have caused. It is not too late to make amends. He must convene an emergency economic summit involving labour leaders, economists, and stakeholders to redesign the wage structure in line with current realities. Subsidies should be redirected from elite luxuries to essential services. Wasteful government spending must be cut, and accountability mechanisms put in place.
Beyond monetary compensation, the government must invest in affordable housing, efficient public transport, subsidized healthcare, and quality education. These are the real tools that reduce the cost of living and enhance the quality of life for workers.
May 1, 2025, is a test for the conscience of the nation. As workers mourn rather than celebrate, the Nigerian state must reflect on what kind of future it is building. No amount of propaganda or policy whitewashing can hide the truth—N70,000 is not a wage, it is an insult.
President Tinubu and his administration must act now—not just to revise the minimum wage but to restore the dignity of Nigerian workers. Only then can May Day become a day of celebration once again. Until then, every naira paid under this unjust system is a badge of betrayal. The Nigerian worker deserves better, and it is time the nation listened.