NIGERIA’s working class is under siege. Every day, millions of workers rise before dawn, commute long distances, and labour tirelessly – yet return home defeated by bills they can’t pay and needs they can’t meet. They are teachers, civil servants, drivers, traders, and nurses – people who keep the nation alive, yet cannot afford a decent life. The truth is grim: even with the new ₦70,000 minimum wage, survival has become a luxury, not a right.
The Illusion of a “Living” Wage
When the Nigerian government announced the increase of the national minimum wage to ₦70,000, it was hailed as a victory for labour. But in reality, it was a short-lived celebration. Within weeks, inflation swallowed the joy. Food prices skyrocketed, transport fares doubled, and school fees became unbearably high. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s inflation rate hit 34% in mid-2025, while food inflation stood above 42% – one of the highest in Africa.
Once upon a time, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) were the beating hearts of social justice – fearless, principled, and organized. Today, they often appear weakened, divided, or compromised. Strikes are called, but negotiations end in silence. The working class can no longer rely solely on union leaders who seem closer to government officials than to the people they represent.
A bag of rice now costs over ₦80,000, a gallon of petrol more than ₦3,000, and rent for a modest one-bedroom apartment in cities like Lagos or Abuja exceeds ₦500,000 a year. How does a worker earning ₦70,000 survive in such an economy? After paying transport, food, and school fees, there is nothing left. The wage may look higher on paper, but in reality, it’s worth less than $45 per month.
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The Working Poor
Nigeria has become a country where the employed are as poor as the unemployed. The concept of the “working poor” is no longer theoretical – it’s the everyday experience of millions. A teacher, civil servant, or health worker must now take loans to feed their families. Many skip meals, postpone medical care, and withdraw children from private schools.
What is most painful is that these workers are not lazy – they are trapped. They work long hours but earn wages that can’t sustain them. The system has made honest labour a punishment. When workers’ pay cannot afford them dignity, when wages do not match the cost of living, society breeds frustration, corruption, and hopelessness.
The Government’s Blind Spot
Successive governments have failed to link wage policies with market realities. Instead of addressing structural inflation, they focus on temporary measures that do not touch the root causes of poverty. Fuel subsidy removal in 2023, naira devaluation, and inconsistent fiscal policies have combined to destroy the purchasing power of the working class.
While workers are told to tighten their belts, politicians continue to enjoy lavish allowances, luxury vehicles, and foreign medical trips. The gap between the elite and the ordinary worker is now a moral scandal. Leadership that ignores the pain of its people cannot claim legitimacy.
The Collapse of Labour Representation
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Once upon a time, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) were the beating hearts of social justice – fearless, principled, and organized. Today, they often appear weakened, divided, or compromised. Strikes are called, but negotiations end in silence. The working class can no longer rely solely on union leaders who seem closer to government officials than to the people they represent.
The solution lies in bold and honest reforms. The Nigerian government must move from minimum wage to living wage, ensuring that salaries are tied to inflation and regional cost of living. There should be periodic wage reviews, not once every five years.
Nigeria urgently needs a strong socialist labour union – a movement rooted in solidarity, equality, and collective struggle. Such a union must go beyond salary negotiations; it must become the moral and political vanguard of the oppressed. The emancipation of the working class cannot come from political elites – it must come from the organized strength of workers themselves.
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Only a socialist-oriented labour movement can challenge the capitalist exploitation that keeps millions in poverty while a few enjoy luxury. To emancipate the working class and other ordinary citizens, labour must rediscover its revolutionary spirit and fight not just for wages, but for justice, ownership, and social transformation.
The Cost of Living in Crisis
Every statistic on inflation represents a broken household. The cost of living in Nigeria has gone beyond the reach of most wage earners. Feeding a family of four now requires over ₦150,000 a month, double the minimum wage. Transport to and from work consumes nearly a third of workers’ salaries. Hospital consultations, which used to cost ₦2,000, now cost ₦8,000 or more, excluding drugs.
The working class remains Nigeria’s most valuable asset. They build the roads, teach the children, heal the sick, and power the economy. Yet they live in despair. The ₦70,000 minimum wage, though higher in figure, cannot buy dignity in today’s Nigeria.
Education is no longer affordable – parents are withdrawing children from schools, while universities and private schools increase fees endlessly. The Nigerian working class lives under constant psychological stress – trapped between pride in their labour and the humiliation by economic helplessness.
What Must Be Done
The solution lies in bold and honest reforms. The Nigerian government must move from minimum wage to living wage, ensuring that salaries are tied to inflation and regional cost of living. There should be periodic wage reviews, not once every five years.
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Investment in public transportation, affordable housing, and healthcare subsidies will relieve pressure on workers’ incomes. The government should also implement tax reforms that reduce the burden on low-income earners and cut unnecessary political spending.
Above all, the labour movement must unite under a socialist vision of justice and equality – a vision that demands that national wealth serve the people, not a privileged few
Dignity Must Return to Labour
The working class remains Nigeria’s most valuable asset. They build the roads, teach the children, heal the sick, and power the economy. Yet they live in despair. The ₦70,000 minimum wage, though higher in figure, cannot buy dignity in today’s Nigeria.
A nation that cannot feed its workers cannot feed its future. The time has come for a new socialist labour movement to rise – one that will emancipate the working class and other ordinary citizens from economic bondage.
If Nigeria must rise again, it must first lift the hands of those who labour to keep it standing.
Comrade Danlami popularly known as Baba Lawan writes from Haliru Umar Street, Dorayi Karamar Unguwar Yamma, Gwale LGA, Kano State, Nigeria. He can be reached via email: lawanmusa363@gmail.com
