Nigerian workers mark Day amid harsh economic realities

…Persisting cost-of-living crisis erodes minimum wage

…Lamentation replaces celebration

While refueling his Toyota Camry car at an MRS station in Yaba, Lagos, an absent-minded middle-level civil servant was not observant of the pump price until the attendant finished her service.

It was later that the quantity sold caught his attention, resulting in a heated argument, as he had expected more in his tank.

“Oga, the price has increased again yesterday evening,” the attendant said.

The furious worker, who occasionally drives to his office in Ikeja from Ebute Metta, shouted and decried that another increment meant another wave of hikes in prices, especially transportation in the coming days.

Opening up to passengers in his car, who he often picks anytime he drives to office to offset the high fuel cost, the civil servant said that he was hustling to pay his children’s school fees before May 4th and the money was not complete yet.

Majority of Nigerian workers are facing similar life situations as their take home pay barely puts food on the table; a development, which is a direct reflection of the impact of the harsh economic realities in the country today.

For many, there was nothing to celebrate on Friday, May 1 Workers’ Day apart from the opportunity to rest at home and not spending on transportation to work that day, all because of the hard times.

The harsh economic realities, according to many, have defied salary increment and other welfare packages, leaving civil servants and low-income earners at the mercy of market forces.

The high inflationary trend, resulting in rising costs, amid low purchasing power, has been fueling the hardship and making life miserable for civil servants.

As at March 2026, headline inflation rose to 15.38 percent, from 15.06 percent in February, ending a sustained decline trend in previous months. Many fear that the rising inflation will continue this year as the US-Iran war keeps pressure on crude oil price, which has risen above the $100 per barrel mark after a long time.

Expressing his frustration, Emeka Emordi, a staff of the Federal Ministry of Works, decried that May Day should not be about speeches and promises, but actions that will boost welfare and productivity of the workers.

Read also: Hardship and hope: Nigerians demand empathy in economic reforms

“Yes, the government has been paying minimum wage and recently it has increased allowances, but the reality is that salaries and allowances have little impact on our welfare today due to the rising costs,” he said.

“You can’t even think of a three-square meal again or buy a full tank in your car today, house rent has tripled, school fees are unnecessarily out of reach, when there should be free education, more people are dying because they can’t afford high hospital bills. If things are very hard for those of us who are working, what about those out of job? Truly, things have fallen apart.”

He argued that no matter how much the government increases salaries, they will make less impact until the root cause of inflation is addressed.

“They keep singing praise of the government that the economic reforms are working, but in reality, we civil servants see less impact. Will it take 100 years for us to feel the impact? They are now blaming the current rise in inflation and fuel pump price on the Middle East tension, but things were still very tight before the tension. Countries in the world look for ways to address inflation and stablise costs, we sing capitalism here, play politics with everything and that is why the masses are suffering,” he decried.

For Jude Okumagba, a senior civil servant in Asaba, Delta State, there is little to celebrate over Workers’ Day because welfare has always been the issue for the average worker, which no government has truly given priority to over the years.

He disclosed that Nigerian workers are no longer pretending that all is well and will not celebrate on empty stomach when the government’s pay-rise, and other promises have not impacted the welfare of an average worker that much.

“Left for the government, the minimum wage wouldn’t have been possible because it sees it as a huge financial burden and some states still struggle to implement it. Even after the implementation, the high cost of living has eroded the gains. So, it is needless making promises or increasing wages if nothing is done to address inflation. It will keep eating our cake whenever wages are increased,” Okumagba said.

Reviewing the reality in Asaba, Okumgba lamented that civil servants see May Day as a normal day and less to celebrate because life has not been easy for them despite wage increment.

How can you be working for years and nothing to show for it? He asked, while insisting that the harsh realities are causing some to cut corners and seek inducements to do their jobs, all to survive in Asaba as they compete for space with business people who have more to spend.

“School fees and house rent are very expensive now in Asaba because of the influx of business people and their large families. Rent for a two-bedroom apartment is well beyond the reach of an average civil servant, transportation and food are expensive too, and salaries are not enough no matter how much and how many times they are increased,” he said.

He lamented that business people are less impacted by the high inflationary trend as is the case in the country today because they transact according to the market forces, unlike civil servants who wait for salary reviews.

“I went to a grocery shop on Friday and discovered that prices on the shelves have been increased a bit and they said it was in response to the rising fuel pump price. Commodity dealers have also increased prices of their items, but can civil servants get instant pay-rise without months of negotiations that whittle down the impact when it is eventually approved?

“The current hardship is biting harder on civil servants and all low-income earners, including the private school teachers that are paid peanuts by their proprietors. Imagine someone being paid N40,000 a month, far less than the minimum wage,” he said.

Considering the fact that the economy may not recover as soon, and in the magnitude expected by the government now, Sam Onikoyi, a Nigerian academia in Europe, called for long-term solutions rather than increment of salaries and allowances, which he described as palliatives that also boost inflation.

“You don’t expect the average worker to celebrate on May Day or to jubilate on hearing salary increment because the persisting high cost of living erodes such palliatives as soon as they receive them,” he said.

“Here in Europe, the government will take a different approach, rather than increase salaries and allowances, it will enforce measures that will bring down inflation, strengthen the value of Euro or Pounds, as the case may be, and checkmate costs. You can’t just increase train or bus tickets in Europe anyhow, it will impact inflation and the government will fight it with policies and enforcements”.

He also thinks that the government should not say it has no business in doing business, rather intervene in some critical sectors that will boost workers’ welfare like the provision of moderate housing schemes, affordable transportation, introduction of workers rate for certain payments, make education free up to university level and subsidize essential food items to stabilise their prices in the market for civil servants to be able to afford them.

“In the advanced world, the governments are intentional at checking inflation, they commit to ensuring stabilized economies, high standard of living and welfare of the people, else there will be revolts every day until things normalize for the people to afford them and live normal life. The Nigerian government should go for long-term solutions for workers welfare and the general wellbeing of every citizen,” he noted.

But Idris Alhassan, a senior procurement officer in a public organisation, noted that the government has introduced many welfare schemes for workers, just that the handlers lack communication skills to inform the public and to also encourage civil servants to take advantage of them.

“I think we workers have reasons to celebrate May Day because those on government payroll cannot say things are still the same. They have minimum wage, increased allowances, some mortgage schemes to build and own their houses, students’ loan scheme for the children and now full payment on retirement,” he said.

Read also: High cost of rent, transport, feeding killing us, Delta workers tell Oborevwori

“The government should take time to reach out to the people on measures out there to cushion the impact of the harsh economy because there are many and I know some beneficiaries”.

Alhassan also argued that some civil servants are even richer than business people and politicians because of the opportunities they saw and took advantage of.

“We hear about estates owned by civil servants in Abuja and Kaduna, shopping malls and even private schools. Are they not the same civil servants that we are asking the government to assist? I think the government should also look for a way to get back some of the excess money from this set of civil servants to boost the welfare of their folks,” he suggested.

In his conclusion and also countering Alhassan, Onikoyi decried that the government has not been very committed in sorting out workers welfare over the years and that welfare goes beyond frequent salary reviews.

“If the government fights the root cause of the hardship, strengthens the Naira, beats inflation, curbs high cost of items, especially food and transportation, the civil servants will march out in numbers to celebrate May Day on their own next year. A hungry person does not celebrate, he wants food first,” he concluded.