The Minimum Wage Debate Exposes Nigeria’s Weak Federal System

The struggle to afford basic needs with a living wage highlights the governance imbalance in Nigeria.

Nigerian food bloggers known for their creative culinary displays on social media have recently faced a stark reality: soaring food prices. The price of tomatoes, a staple ingredient in many Nigerian dishes, has skyrocketed. This has forced these resourceful cooks to adapt. In June 2024, a food blogger went viral for making stew with cucumber, a cheaper alternative to the traditionally used (and now expensive) tomato.  

Before we embraced ‘cucumber stew’, another food blogger emerged, this time using watermelon as a tomato substitute. These creative adaptations are a direct response to the soaring inflation and increase in food prices. Garri, which sold for N370 (per one kilogram) last year, has undergone a 200 per cent rise to N1,115. This literal surge in Garri price and other food produce is not commensurate with the N30,000 minimum wage, especially for an average Nigerian. 

The 2019 minimum wage increase from N18,000 to N30,000 has become insufficient. Inflation is steadily increasing (currently 33.95 per cent) and surged over 50 per cent between May 2023-24. Within the same period, food prices climbed to 40.66 per cent, requiring an average Nigerian to spend N1,041 daily for a healthy diet, according to a National Bureau of Statistics report, far exceeding a minimum wage earner’s ability. Labour unions are demanding a significant increase, citing rising living costs. However, state governors hesitate, fearing a reliance on borrowing to pay salaries. This clash exposes the complexities of setting a minimum wage within Nigeria’s federal system and how the current situation exposes underlying weaknesses in the system...