₦airaland Forum

Qu'ils mangent de la brioche(let them eat cake)"- Marie Antoinette

The dispute between employer and employee over wage has existed before even the term 'wage' was coined. One of these notable disputes held in France where workers complained that they could not afford bread and Marie Antoinette, a member of the royalty would claim(in translation) "if they can't eat bread, let them eat cake". Of course, there is no need to have much knowledge of the economy in France as at then to understand that cake would have been more costly than bread. The protesters and the Queen operated on two different types of reasoning which are both correct. For the Queen, should she wake up some morning and not desire to eat bread, she can call the bakers and tell them to make cake. For the protesters, however, cake is not an option but the cheaper bread has always been what the entirety of their existence is rooted upon. This mentality has reemerged in virtually all trade disputes.

On one side of the conflict table are 'cake' people who no longer understand the microeconomic because they have been soaked for too long in wealth either gotten legally or through corrupt means. The cake is an option for these ones if there is no bread and they simply would not understand how harsh the national conditions are or if they even do, they still believe the dustpoor can continue to manage little while they feed them with stories of their reward being in heaven or excuses of how the poor need to sacrifice for national advancement.

The 'bread' side of the conflict table has workers who have daily demands from their immediate families and are faced by an economy where the price of everything entirely has increased including the costs of individual transportation, the salary can no longer do what it used to and living on the same amount of work in the past has become harder. Thus, they reason, if my work has fed me in the past and the same amount of work no longer does there should be an increase in not the amount of work I do but the amount of pay that I used to be given.

The people on the 'cake' side of the table are those who would oppose wage increase yet have no fundamental issues with the high cost of funding elected public officers who despite the relative national poverty still get to take home very large sums of money. When the salary of public officers is compared internationally, Nigeria jumps up the list and can be prominently seen. When the wage of workers internationally is compared, Nigeria runs down the list to hide on the last lines as very great difference exists in international minimum wage comparisons to the negative while positive great difference exists when renumeration of elected public servants are compared.

According to a report by the Brookings Institution “at the end of May 2018, our trajectories suggest that Nigeria had about 87 million people in extreme poverty, compared with India’s 73 million. What is more, extreme poverty in Nigeria is growing by six people every minute, while poverty in India continues to fall". Also, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its latest report on Nigeria, averred that despite the recovery of the nation’s economy from recession, more Nigerians were sliding into poverty.

The argument exists that the payment of minimum wage may lead to an inflation which is a rise in the general price level of commodities. It is argued that when it is increased, producers from the primary to the secondary levels would also increase the shelf price of their products by raising costs acting in the belief that the increase of the minimum wage(which affects all levels of civil servants positively including those not on the minimum wage) has also increased the purchasing power of the consumer. Thus, should this be the case, the money injected into getting the minimum wage increased would only court more trouble and severe inflation. This argument is quickly refuted by those who insist that the economy can only be better when people spend more and businesses can generate more profit and the government more revenue.

Both arguments quite overlook the important fact that a lot of the consumer goods in Nigeria are not locally produced. In event of an increase in minimum wage, the main profiteers would be foreign companies and the local economy will be deprived of more as people commit funds to the purchase of imported goods. This creates a major issue for concern as local production should receive a boost before minimum wage increase to ensure funds stay within the economy. However, who would explain to a Labour that hears frequent news of corruption that their minimum wage cannot be increased because the government needs to prioritise the development and encouragement of local production?

Among the myriad of issues that Nigeria faces is the trust that has been lost in government. As it stands presently, a lot of states cannot cope with the 18,000naira minimum wage structure. Nigerian Labour Congress just some months ago insisted on 65,000 naira but have now reviewed their call downwards by more than half to a 30,000 naira call. The country has suffered financial crises of late which include recession, inflation and a rise in unemployment vis-a-vis underemployment. Can Nigeria pay the minimum wage? There is a real absence of facts to use to answer this as the civil service maintained by the state and Federal governments are separate and a general answer cannot be found with the exception of states such as Lagos and Rivers where one can feel confident on their ability to pay an increased wage.

The people on the 'bread' side of the table are unlikely to listen to whatever the government has to say. The workers are incensed by continued news of corruption especially manifested in the brazen vote-buying episodes where politicians throw money out in the festival of getting the masses through inducements and leaving them afterwards to their poverty. Workers are also incensed by the anti-people policies of the government which includes a speculative increase of tertiary institution fees, an action the Academic Staff Union of Universities has already taken moves against by starting a nationwide strike.

In the face of this severe hardship, a call for the increment of the minimum wage is coming quite late and should have been made earlier. It is great surprise and wonder why Labour actions in past attempts have proven unpopular but this NLC Nov. 6 action looks promising this time around especially fueled by the rising political mood which has already made Nigerians pitch tents against or with the government of the day.

Labour actions in the past might have been unpopular due to the illusion held dear among Nigerian people that the Buhari regime was encountering difficulties while trying to create change. Presently, that mood has washed off to one of rage and impatience. The only thing left holding back a nationwide revolt is that the faith of the Nigerian labour and masses in the past NLC leaderships have proven betrayed. Thus, the reception is there for the strike action and nationwide sit-ins but the faith in the workers' Union leaderships are not so strong.

Trying again to view the issue from the 'cake' side of the table, one finds that a minimum wage increase may be unrealistic as there is still a struggle to meet the old wage requirements. Again, there is the cost of oil in the international market as the major revenue generation means of Nigeria which would mean the government cannot plan to increase minimum wage anchoring it on the unpredictable international oil market where prices can crash the same way they have risen recently and is a market that is already being threatened of extinction by the combined forces of conservation/pollution-elimination and the force of developing newer technology. There is also the concern that the funds will make their way out of the economy should we consider that consumer goods are not locally produced and minimum wage increase would mean more of these items are purchased and the country is ultimately on the losing end.

Switching to the 'bread' side of the conflict table, one finds that workers need a living wage that copes with the current harsh economic realities. Workers are justified in their actions because the government cannot continue to spend so much for itself and elected public officials through excessive legal renumeration and surplus illegal sharings yet relinquish little to the masses and expect them to sacrifice even further while sending their children to schools that have become far costly than what the poor or average earner can afford. Should a person who is on the proposed 30,000naira wage desire to educate his child, he chooses between the dilapidated public institutions that are again becoming costly to the tune of the recent proposed fee of 500,000 or send them to private institutions where the costs are far above his earnings for a combined 5 years assuming he does not do anything else with his salary but to save it. There is a national hardship and the call for the minimum wage increase is not really selfish on the part of workers but is a desire for self-preservation in these hard times.

Despite the court order, NLC can choose to proceed with her strike and make it even more effective by ordering her component Unions such as ASUU(already on strike), NAT, NUPENG, NUT, NASU and other unions to declare their independent respective strikes. The court stops NLC and not these component sister units. The NLC also argues that the government has defied court orders severally and they claim they have received no court order. The argument the government too has defied court orders are only moral yet they are appealing.

To cast a final glance at the entire issue, one hopes that a solution is found somehow. The true finances of the government must be shown to the Nigerian Labour and they must understand why the new minimum wage cannot be funded should the government stand on this. The government must further take steps that will aid the trust of workers by cutting bogus salaries and jumbo take-home packages as this will ensure the workers are at rest and can trust their government. The workers, on the other hand, should try to be receptive in their talks and negotiations with the consideration of supreme national interest. But at the same time, they should not do what Nigerian street parlance describes as 'sleeping on a bicycle'. That is, they should not be too willing to drop their agitation as it further reduces their credibility for future actions.

Sources said semen-stained pants belonging to the suspect and his late mother were recovered from the room as exhibits by the police.

Men of the Edo State Police Command have arrested a 21-year old man, Samuel Emobor Oghenekporboro, for allegedly killing his mother and making love to her corpse several times for money ritual.

His 58 years old mother identified as Mrs Christiana Ighoyivwi was said to have been strangulated at their residence at 8B, Market road, Ologbo Community along Benin- Sapele road in Ikpoba-Okha local government area.

It was gathered that an herbalist had told the suspect that money would fall from heaven while making love with his mother’s corpse.

Sources said it was a grandmother of the suspect, Mrs Maria Gabriel, that caught him having sex with the corpse.

She was at the residence at about 6am to invite her late daughter to a nearby church for morning prayers when she caught the suspect.

The old woman was said to have knocked repeatedly on her daughter’s (victim) door but nobody responded and raised an alarm after peeing through the door.

The suspects who opened the door and attempted to escape was held by neighbours who handed him over to the police.

Sources said semen-stained pants belonging to the suspect and his late mother were recovered from the room as exhibits by the police.

It was gathered that the suspect told interrogators that he thought money would rain from heaven after killing his mother and making love to her.

Spokesman for Edo Police Command, DSP Chidi Nwabuzor, said investigation was ongoing saying the suspect would be arraigned soon.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, says conciliation on the national minimum wage will continue on Sunday despite the court injunction restraining organised labour from embarking on strike.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the National Industrial Court had on Friday ordered the organised labour not to go ahead with the nationwide strike scheduled for Nov. 6

Justice Sanusi Kado gave the order in a ruling on an ex parte application moved on behalf of the Federal Government by the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr Dayo Apata.

Recall that organised labour had threatened to commence an indefinite strike on Nov. 6 to press for a new minimum wage of N30, 000 for workers.

The minister in the statement, however, insists that the conciliation meeting involving organised Labour, the organised private sector and government scheduled for Sunday remain unchanged.

“The conciliation meeting involving the Organised Labour, the Organised Private Sector and Government scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 4 at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation by 6 p.m. is still on course and will hold,’’ he said.

Ngige said that this will be followed by another meeting of the National Tripartite Minimum Wage Committee meeting on Monday, Nov. 5 at the same venue.

The minister appealed to all tripartite members to attend the meetings in the interest of the nation and finding a solution to the minimum wage impasse.

kingsfire:
Waoh.. Bros thanks for this lesson you've given unknowingly.
You know I actually thought its "Headbent" not knowing its hellbent. Thanks man

Ryott:
The pics prove that there present conditions are far better than their past

Ryott:
That's their past, for some people, that picture represents their present condition while some are even in a worse condition than that right now

ericmor:
So to make life better for Nigerians is in Dubai? Someone went to Dubai to strategize on how to get power u say is for Nigerians. Anyone that still believe in the same circle of people is sitting on a long thing

PrecisionFx:
Ayam not understanding .

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said that its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has worked out a pricing template that will immediately crash the pump price of fuel in the country if elected President in 2019.

The main opposition party accused the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration of insensitivity by failing to do the needful in the last three years.

In a statement on Thursday by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP raised objections to the reported increase in the official pump prices of diesel and kerosene.

According to the PDP, such increase will bring more economic pressure on an already impoverished nation, stressing that most businesses and homes across the country heavily depend on these products for sustenance.

The party said it has been in high level talks with top international players in the oil and gas industry.

The PDP said results of its engagements have shown that the appropriate pump price of fuel in the Nigerian market, under the current subsidy regime of the Buhari Presidency, should be within the borders of N87 to N90 per liter as against the N145 currently being charged.

The party said with the current price template of crude oil in the international market, the Buhari administration has no justification to keep the pump price of fuel at N145 per liter.

It blamed President Buhari for watching Nigerians groan under the weight of high fuel prices, while a cabal at the presidency loot the funds meant to subsidise the product.

The statement said, “The PDP notes that for every N145 paid for a liter of fuel, the Presidency cabal diverts a hidden N58, which Nigerians have continued to pay since the fuel price was increased from N87 to presumably subsidized cost of N145.

“Apart from failing to account for the over N1.4 trillion allegedly siphoned through sleazy oil subsidy deals, the Buhari-led Federal Government is burdened to account for the over N3.49 trillion stolen under the hidden N58 per liter of fuel on over 50 million daily domestic consumption estimated in the last three years.

“The PDP notes that had the Buhari administration heed wise counsel to be transparent in its dealings in governance and to engage more experienced hands on petroleum issues, the nation would not have been in the dire straits we face today.

“The party however urges Nigerians not to despair as its Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has already worked out a blueprint that will end sleazes, ensure appropriate pricing template and free resources to guarantee availability of product on a national pricing regime”.

Osagyefo98:
Chaiiii midolian e done reach like this.

Name any igbo state u want, I want to give u an igbo wife....anyone u need igbo wife.

BrownRoofRep:
Seriously, I can't understand what the heck is wrong with APC e-rats.
A moment ago 'Igbos are tiny and inconsequential 5%ers and their votes means nothing'.
Now - Igbos vote Buhari or get extinct.

What the heck is wrong with APC e-rats?

ttmax09:
So u mean a director in kwara state can earn upto 200k in Niger a director level 16 salary is not up to 110k.

The governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party in Osun State, Iyiola Omisore, has reacted to his one year suspension from the Pan Yoruba social political organization, Afenifere.

Omisore’s suspension is coming due to his alliance with the All Progressives Congress at the rerun stage of the recent Osun state poll.

The SDP governorship candidate who came third in the September 22nd inconclusive election, backed the APC, which was trailing the Peoples Democratic Party then by 353.

The APC eventually won the election, due to the support of the SDP candidate who got his supporters to vote for the APC during the rerun poll.

Afenifere, however, declared that Omisore who is a chieftain in the organisation went against the decision of the group which asked him not to support the APC.

However, Omisore while reacting to the organisation’s decision said he was not aware of the purported one year suspension order placed on him.

“I’m unaware of the pan-Yoruba group’s directives because we also have bonafide, notable and active APC members in Afenifere,” Omisore said in a statement on Tuesday night.

“The interest of Osun SDP was the development of the state, and of the two parties involved in the rerun election, it was the APC that agreed to implement the SDP’s manifestos, the reason the decision was made,” he added.

The SDP governorship candidate, said his decision to form an alliance with the ruling party few days to the conduct of a rerun exercise of September 27 was the outcome of the resolution passed by his party.

“It was the Osun Social Democratic Party (SDP) that passed a resolution for a coalition agreement with the All Progressives Congress (APC), which is the party’s supremacy in decision making,” Omisore said

Omisore,therefore, affirmed that he is “yet to be informed on the so-called Afenifere’s suspension” which he said “bypassed the principle of fair hearing.”

They met at Afor Nnobi last year during Ashaolu, the New Yam festival. They had gone on a couple of dates in Lagos and laughed a lot, especially when she made fun of him. Emeka was talking about introducing Uju, his girlfriend to our family members when she revealed: she will vote for Buhari. That was when e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g turned up-side-down. My brother Emeka, an IPOB activist who recently metamorphosed to Atiku supporter told me he will stop seeing her. “That is it”, he told me.

To put this story in context, I should mention that Emeka, the youngest in his family has been searching for a wife for over three years now. His friends and sisters have been urging him to get a good lady from his hometown, Nnobi. They argued that since the spouses of all his siblings are from other towns, it will be good to have someone from the same town to “keep watch” over their properties at home. From the first day, my brother met Uju, he liked her and everyone in the family have been excited and happy for them.

When I reminded Emeka of this, he told me that “I didn’t feel like I could still love her, knowing that she supports Buhari - I am too emotional. It the beginning, I thought I will live with it, but it just keeps getting worse. I can’t get over it.” Emeka was in an annoyance, the kind that often seizes and overwhelms the better judgment of people who follow Nigerian politics closely these days.

In this time of Buhari’s Presidency who polls poorly with Nigerians from Southeast, my bet is that these kinds of surprises have happened more often than usual. Igbos expect their “brothers and sisters” to broadly agree with them politically, at least enough to distaste everything about President Buhari. They want all Igbos to support their new love Atiku at the expense of their Supreme leader Nnamdi Kanu. Unfortunately for my brother Emeka, Uju happens to be a die-hard supporter of Buhari. Emeka was thus baffled.

In response, he freaked out on someone whose company he enjoys. For Emeka, the rule is: vote Buhari, get dumped. But, if you can’t kiss someone who disagrees with you; if you can’t love someone who disagrees with you; you’ve failed a basic mark. When you change the way, you treated someone - who you liked - simply because they disagree with you, you personify intolerance. You committed dialogic infanticide. You decided there’s nothing more to learn about people at least ostensibly on the other side of the political divide.

Even if you believe that being a Buhari backer proves that the person holding your hand is a “Fulani Slave,” that wouldn’t absolve you from the need to keep trying to understand, from remaining open. One would have thought that Igbos who are republican by nature, who pride themselves on their tolerance, who are outgoing and are in every city and village in Nigeria, living harmoniously or at least coexisting with other Nigerians will be open to plurality.

When I saw how pissed off Emeka was, I called Uju to find out how she is dealing with the delicate situation. She told me that she is now used to the trauma of losing close friends for believing in Buhari. She told me of how she lost her childhood friend, Ada, who broke up with her via text message when she saw her Facebook post praising Buhari for rescuing Nigeria from the looters. “Emeka is very emotional about this 2019 election,” said Uju. “He took it very personally that I did not agree with him.”

How can a people divided by the defeat of their “hero”, Goodluck Jonathan and the election of an “enemy” President Buhari move on? Many PDP members say they want to, but they are paralyzed with anxiety that President Buhari might win again in 2019. The die-hard supporters of Buhari say their brothers and sisters on the other side simply need to lighten up. They even joke that “we are all Hausa-Fulani slaves now” since their new-found love, Atiku Abubakar is also an Hausa-Fulani man.

When I talked to Uju last week about my bother Emeka, she said that “you can’t even kid him about Buhari. It’s like the sky is falling. What strikes me as odd is how defensive he is. We’ve been friends through challenging times and it’s never been like this.” Uju said she’s been avoiding political posts on Facebook. She said that some of her friends who are supporters of Buhari are logging off the site altogether, to avoid verbal fights with their brother and sister who have suddenly stooped “hailing Biafra” and metamorphosed to Atiku’s internet soldiers.

“I love my Emeka and I will always love him no matter who he votes for,” Uju told me, almost lamenting. “I’m hopeful it will get better as time goes on, but I don’t know if it will. The way I see it, as long as President Buhari is on the ballot box, the elephant is always in the room.” I told my brother Emeka that if he feels so passionately about voting Buhari out and having Atiku in, he should fight forward, but not at the cost of losing this sweet girl, Uju.

I consoled Uju not to give up on Emeka and that their relationships can survive this time of political polarization. What it will take, I told her, is having the ability to de-escalate the problem respectfully, and a commitment to repair the relationship. I also told Emeka that his problem is a lack of listening and a cultural belief that relationships are kind of “disposable”. I told him that rather than be civil it has become normal to call each other losers and cut people off completely.

President Buhari has been in office for over three years, but the rancor before and after the 2015 elections among families and friends is not fading. I know that bridging an ever-widening political gap in personal relationships isn’t easy, but it’s not impossible. It’s important to remind ourselves that the bonds go deeper than political orientation “Blood is thicker than politics, childhood friendship and marriage vows should not come with a commitment for life ‘unless you like a candidate I hate.’ ”

When you kill the love and friendship in your heart because of different political opinion, you suck. Disliking someone’s beliefs (or disagreeing with them) isn’t itself bigotry, changing how you treat them is. If you want to defend disagreement, don’t break up with your Buhari girlfriend or boyfriend or childhood friend you’ve loved for two decades. So, reach out to loved ones and tell them that nothing outside is more important than loved ones and your relationship; not Goodluck Jonathan, not Buhari, not Atiku, and definitely not saint Peter Obi.

Paraphrasing Martin Luther King Jr., I refuse to accept the view that Igbos are so tragically bound to the starless midnight of Atiku and Peter Obi that the bright daybreak of love and brotherhood can be sacrificed. So, let us leave your fears and suspicion and embrace your brothers and sister across the political divide and we will be amazed as to how much we all have in common.



Together, we can.

J2381:
and whose fault is it?

Racoon:
Nigeria is beyond redemption under this present government.

MaziOmenuko:
Wow! That's poor! Does it get better along the line? Like at what level can you earn 200k? And, if minimum wage is made 30k, what does it imply for graduates? Will the 34k double or triple?

MaziOmenuko:
Pls is the 34k basic pay or a gross of all emoluments? Like is it inclusive of housing allowance, medical, transport, education and other statutory allowances?

baliyubla:
Edo state currently pays 25k as minimum wage, and it never owes, its all about priorities. These Governors can conveniently pay 50k as minimum wage if they wanted to. Go to the inner circle of these Governors for 1 weeks, and see what they use our common wealth for, trust me you will puke. Really hurts to see impoverished Nigerians like me and you, still holding brief for those idiots.

The Federal Government has made it known it was not in support of the N22,500 minimum wage proposed by the Nigeria Governors Forum.

The Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chris Ngige, made the stance of the Federal Government known on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.

He said, “The governors have not even done enough. I told them that this N22,500 was even rejected by the Federal Government,” he said.

The NGF had stated that they were capable of paying Nigerian workers N22,500 as the new minimum wage as against the current N18,000.

This is lower than the N30,000 proposed by labour.

Ngige added, “The national minimum wage is a national legislation being driven by the Federal Government of Nigeria in pursuance to item 34 of the Exclusive Legislative list.”

abefeb1:
Keep consoling yourself .a lot of you aticulooted and the obituary will cry like a baby by February. May God keep us alive.

CilicMarin:
Even if Buhari Won the whole North and South West and some states in the South South...


We Still defeat him with our Atikulation in the South East....

Sai Alhaji Atiku!