We hear President Tinubu has directed his Minister of Finance and coordinating Minister of the Economy, Yemi Edu, to furnish him with the template for a reviewed minimum wage within 24 hours.
And I say, Before nkò?
If I’m president Tinubu, I’ll also direct the minister to prepare to implement a pay raise of about N120 or N150k immediately.
Why not? When you win a battle, what do you do but celebrate?
President Tinubu won this battle.
Labour sold themselves very cheaply.
First, the choice of battle was wrong, if you ask me. Organised Labour should not have fought for increase in minimum wage or living wage, slavish as that one sounds.
How could you be fighting for any of these two in a clime where the top officials of your government rank among the most remunerated in the world?
Our public officials have cornered the nation’s wealth to themselves. They arrange hefty pay packages for themselves and still go ahead to help themselves to the till without any consequence.
On top of all that, they have cornered the highest paying MDAs where only their children and close relatives get employed.
So, it was a very dumb move for NLC and TUC to be fighting for minimum wage instead of duelling for proper wealth distribution through the democratisation of employment opportunities.
The way to achieve this is for Labour to press for uniform pay for public offices as was the case.
Labour should be calling for a uniform pay for either all federal parastatals on the one hand or equal pay for all federal government ministries departments or agencies, on the other hand.
So, whether it is NNPCL, CBN, FIRS or Federal Fire Service, or National Library, you shall operate the same pay structure.
But as things stand now, whether the minimum wage is reviewed or not, the income gap between the politicians, their children, who are employed in these high-paying parastatals and the rest of us shall remain wide.
Meanwhile, na the same market we dey go. The same fuel we dey buy, etc.
At the end of it all, the hurly burly has come and gone at a great relief to President Tinubu and his friends the topmost level of government that this Labour battle cry was full of sound and fury but signifying nothing to be dreaded.
