…Workers vent anger through protests
…Govt. must cut down on corruption, institute merit system – NLC
… Appropriate funding needed to address disparity in education sector – Academics
The gap between the rich and the poor in Nigeria is getting wider and wider every passing day. While some categories of citizens enjoy limitless flow of resources to maintain their elitist lifestyles, many others are just managing to survive.
Nowadays, civil servants, policemen/women, soldiers, university lecturers, and even non-academic staff of universities struggle to make ends meet on a day-to-day basis.
The Nigerian Consumer Outlook Report 2025 by the SEID indicated that less than one percent (0.4%) of Nigerians earns above 1 million naira. The report also indicated that the majority of Nigerians earn less than N100,000 or have no income at all.
The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act 2024, pegged N70, 000 as Nigeria’s new minimum wage, which is mandated by law; however, a large portion of the population still falls below the N100, 000 mark, considered a fair wage.
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According to the report, Nigeria’s current geographical income distribution shows a sharp north-south divide. The North West and North East have the lowest share of people who earn above N300, 000, at 3.8 percent and 4.3 percent respectively.
However, only about 4.9 percent of respondents earn above N500, 000, a group likely made up of business owners, high-level professionals, and individuals earning in foreign currency while living in Nigeria.
The South West has the highest share of individuals earning above N900, 000, indicating a stronger concentration of high-value jobs and business opportunities in the region.
“This data paints a picture of a deeply polarised economy where a small segment controls significant financial power while the rest struggle with survival-level incomes,” the report stated.
Chris Onyeka, assistant general secretary, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), said that the root causes of inequality must be addressed to curb the growing discontent among the working population. “Just this morning, I read somewhere that about 90 percent of Nigeria’s wealth is in the hands of 10 percent of the population.”
According to him, the government needs to ensure that due process prevails in allocation of resources, cut down on corruption, and institute a merit system with fair wages. He also urged the government to make the economy more productive.
Onyeka said that the Nigerian equality pyramid is heavy at the bottom because of harsh economic policies of the current administration that have wiped out the middle-class.
“So, many of the people are poor. That is why you have more than 133 million Nigerians who are multi-dimensionally poor.”
According to the NLC assistant general secretary, in addressing the growing income disparity and inequality in the country, there is a need to empower the productive segment of the Nigerian population. “You can encourage productivity by putting more money in the hands of the people who are actually productive.”
Foresight Africa host, Landry Signé and Belinda Archibong, a fellow with the Africa Growth Initiative at Brookings, recently discussed inequalities that hinder development across Africa and policy choices that can overcome them.
These include increasing job opportunities for women and youths, passing laws against gender and youth discrimination, and providing access to financial resources to both demographics. Archibong uses Nigeria as a case study to show how these inequalities hinder economic development.
According to Signé, inequalities that hinder economic development are pervasive across much of Africa specifically when it comes to women and youth. Accordingly, targeted interventions are necessary for sustainable economic growth.
“Discriminatory laws limit women’s and youth economic opportunities by keeping them from access to safe housing, steady employment, and sufficient healthcare. To improve economic development and create sustainable economies, policymakers need to raise the living standards of the most marginalised, who, in most societies, are women and young people.”
Last week, the federal government and some state governors in showing appreciation to the Super Falcons and D’Tigress for emerging best in Africa (Falcons being 10 times champions and D’Tigress winning AfroBasket back-to-back five times), reel out some financial rewards.
Following the largesse, many more Nigerians in different fields of endeavour have started to agitate for better reward, while some Nigerians have called for an institutionalised and standardised reward system that mirrors the country’s wages and remuneration at all levels.
While the largesse was being handed to D’Tigress, some retired soldiers were seen protesting at the Finance Ministry, Abuja over unpaid allowances.
In today’s Nigeria, income disparities are also evident across educational levels. A large proportion of unemployed individuals only have the Senior School Certificate (SSCE), while first-degree holders dominate the N100, 000 to N800, 000 income band.
“Income inequality is real. The disparity is obvious across all sectors. Some agencies of government are tagged juicy because of the extra benefits workers therein enjoy. This is the reason why people jostle to work in some federal government’s ministries, departments, and agencies,” Charles Adewale, lecturer, Department of Communication, Caleb University, Lagos, told BusinessDay.
According to him, disparity in wages is fueling “inefficiencies in both public and private sectors as more workers seek alternative sources of income to support their monthly salary. People engage in other activities to make ends meet. Consequently, primary employment suffers.”
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Wage disparity in education
Ibitayo Ayoade, a lecturer in the Department of School Media, University of Ibadan, told BusinessDay that the government placing the right value on education and funding it appropriately will address some of the disparities in the education sector.
According to him, unionism stemmed from wage inequality, which led to industrial unrest in the education sector. “It was ASUU that brought up the TETFUND initiative in Abacha’s era.”
He also urged the government to upgrade the universities to carry out research that will solve societal problems. However, he admittedly said the government cannot do it alone but has to adopt innovative initiatives to curb industrial unrest in the education sector. “Doing student loan that’s not viable and sustainable,” is not the way to go.
Chukwudinma Okoji, communication expert, told BusinessDay that protests, industrial actions, and all kinds of defiant industrial demonstrations are ways ordinary workers can express themselves and make their grievances known to the government on poor welfare.
“In the midst of plenty, hardworking civil servants in both public and private establishments who keep our country running live in penury. This should be a crime.”
He said that for Nigeria to put an end to industrial action, government needs to put its maximum strength into taking care of the welfare of the people who keep the country’s hospitals running to save lives, curtail crime through standard policing, implement government policies through secretarial prudence, and secure the country’s borders in their uniforms. “They are heroes deserving of a befitting wage.”
Call for standardised reward system
Beyond addressing the disparity in workers’ wages, Okoji also called for a standardised reward system that recognises efforts put into rendering service to the country, either at the private or public sector.
According to him, Nigeria’s current reality with regard to wage inequality has always created a dangerous psychological divide among the working population across the country. “Many civil servants, men and women who have dedicated decades of their lives to public service, can’t afford decent housing, healthcare, or quality education for their children. Yet, in just four years, appointed government officials accumulate wealth they and their children may never exhaust all through their lifetime.”
“It was on Monday, July 28th that news broke out that President Bola Tinubu had gifted the 24 players who participated in the WAFCON game against Morocco $100,000 each. It was a proud moment for people across the country.
“The President was hailed for encouraging excellence. At that moment, it was felt that the purpose of the government is not only to create jobs and construct roads, and other social amenities, but also to create a country of happy people living comfortably in their chosen careers.
“Happiness, though meaning different things to different people, cannot discount the role of comfortability, the ability to live with dignity and security, knowing the basic necessities of life are secured,” Okoji said.
According to him, income inequality in today’s Nigeria has reached alarming proportions that disrobe hardworking people of their dignity. “Workers see the flashy cars of ‘Yahoo boys’ who dwell in crime to excel, the fat allowances of senators who do the barest work.
“They see the recent multimillion naira presidential gifts to the Super Falcons, which, though celebratory, only deepen the feeling that this country doesn’t value the labour of primary workers. This sad reality has pushed many toward justified resistance,” Okoji said.
Industrial actions
Last week, nurses in Nigeria’s public hospitals suspended their seven-day ‘warning strike’ after reaching an agreement with the government over the implementation of their demands, the nurses’ union said.
The National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives said in a statement that the government has responded to their demands and provided ‘clear timelines,’ for putting them in place, but added that they would be monitoring the implementation of the signed memorandum of understanding.
The nurses began the action on July 30, threatening to scale it up to an indefinite strike if their demands were not met within seven days. They were demanding higher pay, better working conditions, and increased recruitment.
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While the nurses were calling off their industrial action after reaching an agreement with the federal government, the staff unions of the Lagos State University declared an indefinite strike, effective immediately, over unresolved issues with the university management.
“Sequel to the decision reached at the Emergency Congress of the Joint Action Committee of the Lagos State University Staff Unions (ASUU-LASU, SSANU-LASU, NAAT-LASU & NASU-LASU) that an indefinite strike action should commence effective from Thursday 31st July, 2025, we write to notify you that the indefinite strike action has commenced in Lagos State University,” the unions stated in a memo addressed to Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, the vice-chancellor of LASU.
The release directed all members of staff of the university and its affiliate campuses at the Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM), Ikeja and Lagos State University, Epe campus to withdraw their service and vacate their official duty post with immediate effect.
