Action they say, begets reaction, is a popular English saying. According to Federick Douglass “the limit of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppressed.” I have sincerely felt greater pain in my heart when I read that the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, on July 16, voted to delist national minimum wage from the Exclusive Legislative list, as contained in item 34 of the second schedule of the 1999 Constitution as amended. This was while considering the report of Senator Ike Ekweremadu led Constitution Review Committee. This move by these avaricious senators is anti-people and a ploy to pauperize the Nigerian workers. This move was ill conceived and nurtured by minds that are poorly equipped for the rigorous task of legislation.
The objective of minimum wage fixing is to give wage-earners the necessary social protection in terms of minimum permissible levels of wages. The minimum wage legislation is a very important criterion in the payment of wages. The fixing of minimum wage prevents the exploitation of weak, ill-informed or isolated groups of individuals. Minimum wage affords such people a more comprehensive protection than is available through existing voluntary bargaining machinery. Minimum wage is a universal practice. It is practiced in countries across the globe. The attempt to use constitutional amendment to weaken and destroy the Nigerian worker is a pure advert for mediocrity and a travesty of standard in policy making in Nigeria.
It must however be noted that the Nigeria workers have greater responsibility than those in authority can possibly fathom. We know that in Nigeria today, empirical facts proved the general public profligacy and corruption of these so called senators. Oby Ezekwesili, a former minister under president Olusegun Obasanjo and former vice-president of the World Bank in Africa said: “Since 2005, National Assembly members alone have been allocated N1trillion.” She made the remark during her keynote address at a recent one-day dialogue on the cost of governance in Nigeria that was jointly organised by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and the Federal Public Administration Reform Programme, United Kingdom (UK).
It is a known fact to all Nigerians that the National Assembly has 109 senators and 360 representatives. In a country of over 160 million people, Nigeria lawmakers earn a world record basic salary of $189,500 per annum (N30.6m) The breakdown of the Statutory Transfers between 2005 and 2013 to the national assembly according to the Ministry of Finance) are: 2005 (N54.79billion); 2006 (N54.79billion) 2007 (N66.4billion); 2008 (N114.39billion); 2009 (N158.92billion); 2010 (N 150billion); 2011 (N150billion); 2012 (N150billion); and 2013 (N150billion).
Nigerian workers have had enough. This obnoxious act must not stand. labour unions must reject it in its entirety because this amendment is wearing a masking face. There is more to it than meets the eye. The Ogas at the top at state level are the ones singing while the senators are dancing to their tune. But Nigerians are the judge. We are telling them now and categorically that they are singing and dancing the song of unrest and protest because their song is old school and their dance steps is out of tune with reality.
The reality is that this amendment will only render Nigerian workers vulnerable and live them at the mercy of their employers. The reality is that an employer pays minimum wage but if there is a way he could pay any less, he would. An employer would prefer to maximise his profit at the expense of his employees. Employers often see their relationship with their employee as purely parasitic.
However what the working class lack in terms of economic power they possess in their strength of numbers. If power truly belongs to the people as the PDP slogan suggest, Nigerian workers must all speak with one voice loud and clear. Silence never won rights. Nigerian workers must not allow the spirit of discouragement to seize, and pray upon them. The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed. If this grotesque move by the Nigerian senators is allowed to stand, the hard work of the Nigerian workers will not reflect in their pay. Deregulating National Minimum wage will only make the Nigeria worker a pawn in the chessboard of employers whose sole interest is profit maximization. This act has only one outcome. It will successfully boast the already existing poverty level in this country.
My candid advice to these senators who are always in a rush to vote for things that are anti-people and with equal velocity empower their pocket is that, you can fool some people all the time but cannot fool all the people all the time. As a concerned Nigerian, if we cannot get it right at 53, when are we to get it right? Deregulation of wage must not stand. It is evil, anti people and a weapon of mass poverty.
ALADETAN ABIODUN
A WRITER AND A MEDIA EXPERT PRESIDENT NATIONAL BEACON INITIATIVE (NBI)
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