By Temidayo Akinsuyi

Balarabe Musa, elder statesman and former Kaduna state governor, in this interview with TEMIDAYO AKINSUYI, advises the federal government on how to tackle insecurity, new minimum wage and other issues. Excerpts:

Are you not worried about the rising spate of insecurity in the country, especially on the Kaduna- Abuja highway where Nigerians are being kidnapped?

First of all, the federal government must address the issue of insecurity all over the country, but in particular, those areas that are prone to attacks like the North- East, North- West and also Southern part of the country where we have issues of kidnapping and herdsmen attacks. These attacks are happening all over the country just like the case of armed robbery. If you can recall, armed robbery started immediately after the civil war and people thought it was the problem of the South- East alone. Instead of addressing the problem in all parts of the country, they only focused on the South- East and five years later, there was an armed robber in virtually all local governments in Nigeria. So, we should know that when we are addressing insecurity of this nature, we should look at the whole country with emphasis on areas where it is more serious. Let us not just focus on a particular area alone such as the Kaduna-Abuja road. It must be holistic in nature.

There are fears that the new Minimum Wage will lead to inflation. Do you agree with that?

Let us praise government for at least, listening and doing what is right but they should also know that having delayed the implementation for so long, inflation has made the N30, 000 monthly salaries too small to take care of the living conditions of the average worker. There is still a problem. Now that it has been implemented, the President should ensure that no employer who refused to pay the new minimum wage must get away with it. Because if we just implement the minimum wage and fail to protect the workers by enforcing it, many employers will stop paying it. So, the federal government must make sure anybody who refuses to pay the minimum wage must get away with it. We are also hearing rumours that petroleum price will be increased now that the President has signed the new minimum wage. If that happens, then the whole thing is nonsense because the benefits workers will get from the new minimum wage will be destroyed by the inflation that accompanies it. Petroleum price determine every other prices in Nigeria. If petroleum price goes up, prices of foodstuff and other goods will also go up and this will make the new minimum wage meaningless.

https://www.independent.ng/petroleum-price-increase-will-make-nonsense-of-new-minimum-wage-musa/

media propaganda
since when have you ever supported any good thing done by this administration?

But what he said is true. The money will be meaningless once fuel price is increased

lukui:
media propaganda

since when have you ever supported any good thing done by this administration?

Scam govt.
After increasing salaries they will later come out to say they are unable to pay the minimum wage unless they reduce the amount being paid as subsidy which will automatically increase fuel price