By FEMI OGUNSHOLA, News Agency of Nigeria

A recent National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicates that that around 40 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line. This translates to roughly 83 million out of estimated 200 million Nigerians.

According to the World Bank, extreme poverty is measured as the number of people living on less than $1.90 per day.

The challenge has been exacerbated by the removal of fuel subsidy which has led to astronomical hike in prices of goods and services, with inflation hitting 33.69 per cent, according to official data.

Mrs Shade Oguntoye, a civil servant and resident of the FCT, had gone to the Area 2 shopping complex to purchase plantains, but a bewildered Oguntoye returned home empty handed when she was told that a bunch was N10,000.

The attempt to persuade the seller to shift ground was abortive as the seller blamed high cost of transportation for the high cost of her plantain.

At the Lugbe market, a tuber of yam is sold for between N3,000 and N3,500 depending on the size while five tubers are sold for between N17,000 and N34,000, also depending on the size.

At the same market one kilo of meat sells for as much as N5,500, contrary to the N1,500 it was sold last year.

Mr Ahmed Sanni, a civil servant and a resident of Federal Housing Lugbe, Abuja, said his landlord has increased his two-bedroom flat to N1.8 million from N800,000.

Since the removal of the fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu on May 29, 2023, civil servants have continued to struggle with the unchanged minimum wage of N30,000 in spite rising inflation.

The prices of goods and services have tripled since then, leaving civil servants to grapple with skyrocketing costs and unchecked inflation.

This economic strain has made daily living increasingly difficult for many, highlighting the urgent need for a review of the current minimum wage and more robust economic measures to alleviate the burden on workers

The recent Inflation report by NBS stated that the food inflation rate in May 2024 increased to 40.66 per cent on a year-on-year basis, which was 15.84 per cent higher compared to the rate recorded in May 2023 at 24.82 percent.

According to the report, the rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis is caused by increases in the prices of Semovita, Oatflake, Yam flour prepackage, Garri, and Bean.

Others according to the report are Irish Potatoes, Yam, Water Yam, Palm Oil, Vegetable Oil, Stockfish, Mudfish, Crayfish, Beef Head, Chicken- Live, Pork Head, and Bush Meat.

The NBS report further said that on a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in May was 2.28 per cent, which was a 0.22 per cent decrease compared to the rate recorded in April 2024 at 2.50 per cent.

There have been several protests across the country in recent times with protesters seen carrying placard such as end hunger, end hardship, reverse fuel subsidy removal among others.

On social media, Nigerians are already mobilising for protest on August 1 with major demand to reduce the national Assembly budget, reduce cost of governance among others.

Pundits say the raising the minimum wage for workers can potentially reduce hunger by increasing the purchasing power of workers.

They are of the opinion that such a move would enable workers to afford basic necessities, including food, which can directly improve their nutritional status.

To them, a minimum wage increase can help reduce hunger by improving workers’ purchasing power.

Mr Emmanuel Daniel, a unionist, said it is unfortunate that in spite of Nigeria’s riches in oil and gas, including agriculture, a significant portion of its population remains mired in poverty.

He claimed that the rise in hunger appears to have given way to palpable fury in the land.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) have made a proposal to the government for an increased wage.

The two bodies representing organised labour proposed a minimum wage of N447,000–N850,000, depending on the region, citing the severe impact of inflation on workers’ livelihoods.

Aware of his promise of May 19, 2023, at his inaugural speech where he promised Nigerian workers a living wage Tinubu set up the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage.

There has been back and forth on the part of the federal government and labour with former rejecting the N62,000 proposal by the latter.

NLC President Mr Joe Ajaero and his TUC counterpart, Festus Osifo, have both expressed dissatisfaction with the Federal Government’s handling of the minimum wage negotiations.

Ajaero condemned the proposed N62,000, saying it is insufficient and far from what workers need to support their families.

He said the unions will not take anything short of N250,000 as the minimum wage, considering the economic realities and inflationary pressures in the country.

On his part, Osifo lampooned the government for its approach, describing it as nonchalant and unserious.

He said that the TUC completely rejects the N60,000 offer, citing the high inflation rate and the inadequacy of this amount to sustain a family’s living expenses.

The tripartite committeee chairman, Alhaji Goni Aji, has asked labour to reconsider its stand based on economic considerations and non-monetary incentives that the Federal Government has so far provided for workers.

He said the incentives include a N35,000 wage award for all treasury-paid federal workers and N100 billion for the procurement of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-fuelled buses and CNG conversion kits.

He added that the N125 billion conditional grant and financial inclusion to MSMEs and the N25,000 each were to be shared with 15 million households for three months.

He also pointed at the N185 billion in palliative loans to states to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal and the N200 billion to support the cultivation of hectares of land to boost food production, among others.

Mr Samson Dauda, a public affairs analyst, has blamed the hunger and the palpable anger in the land on food insecurity.

He said the agriculture sector, which employs a significant portion of the workforce, is plagued by insecurity the result of which is that many farmers have retreated to their homes.

As Tinubu takes the lead in negotiating with labour Nigerians are full of expectation his intervention will final settle the minimum wage impasse so that they will heave a sigh of relief. (NAN)

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