Workers need more attention, minimum wage poor — Obasanjo

Nigerian workers’ conditions have become more deplorable despite the N70,000 minimum wage approved by President Bola Tinubu last year, according to former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Obasanjo has called for more provisions for workers who “have become victims of those meant to protect their interests” as their pay cannot cover their basic expenses.

In his newly published book, “Nigeria: Past and Future”, the former president said the minimum wage does not cover transportation costs for some workers, let alone food, housing, and family upkeep, highlighting the hurdles faced by workers.

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“Workers need more attention than they are getting. It is their right, and they have been denied it for too long,” he said.

President Tinubu had on July 29, 2024, signed the N70,000 minimum wage into law after negotiations with organised labour and the private sector were finalised on July 18, 2024.

This concluded months-long talks in which Tinubu reduced labour’s initial N250,000 monthly payment demand to N70,000 per month.

Prior to this new minimum wage, the country’s minimum wage stood at N33,000, signed into law by former President Muhammadu Buhari on April 18, 2019. But with skyrocketing prices and tough economic conditions, the need to revive wages became imperative.

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Meanwhile, in chapter 17 of his book, Obasanjo accused labour leaders of prioritising personal interests while jettisoning workers’ welfare.

He argued that labour union leaders have become even more partisan so much that they now became “ineffective compared to the founding fathers’ expectations” in a bid to achieve political heights.

“How did it happen that a trade union leader, while in office, was negotiating with a political party to be adopted as a gubernatorial candidate?”

“Rather than negotiate in the interest of the workers, they do sabre-rattling and they are called into the room and money in large amounts is stuffed into their hands and they keep quiet.

“That has been the case since 2015. And, if anything, it is going from bad to worse,” he lamented.

Obasanjo also criticised government officials who openly admitted to paying off labour leaders to stop agitation.

“How do we explain a senior official close to the President saying, ‘We have paid them to keep quiet and stop agitating’?

“What contributions are such labour leaders and their unions making to the country’s progress? You do not get the best from a frustrated and depressed worker.”

Obasanjo however clarified that anyone has the right to pursue politics, he argued that it was unethical for labour leaders to use their unions as platforms for political advancement, as it creates a conflict of interest.

He proposed a law requiring labour leaders to wait at least five years after leaving office before participating in politics.