Beyond minimum wages, salaries and governors
By Prince Charles Dickson PhD
This article was originally written in 2015 under the title Why Governors Cannot Pay 18k, almost ten years ago, and not much has changed! For me, I am not a fan of the minimum wage, I am a fan of infrastructural development, a system that works, with health facilities, good road networks and affordable transportation that does not drain the Nigerian worker.
I equally believe that every state should have its own salary cap, and we should start exploring the feasibility of the hourly shift and pay so that we can really calculate productivity. We are simply pushing the horse before the cart or even working the cart with no horse. We refuse to allow our local government system work, and we think a minimum wage would solve a problem that has no minimum at its root—May Nigeria win.
The Zamfara State Governor and chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara has said it was essential for the state governors, the presidency and the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC to negotiate over the N18K minimum wage.
The governor said that the dwindling oil prices has drastically affected the revenue generation of most States which can no longer pay salaries of workers.
He stated that there was therefore no need to live under pretense when, in reality, the revenues were not coming.
Yari who fielded questions from State House correspondents after a private meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday at the presidential villa, also denied making categorical statements on pruning down the wage.
He said: “Let me make it very clear to Nigerians, the Governor’s Forum is not the enemy of labour in any way. Rather, we have been working together.
“Although in the decision, we never said that we were going to stop the payment of the N18K minimum wage, we are looking at the situation in the country and in the global economy.
“What we said is that when the National Assembly enacted the law of paying the N18K minimum wage, then the oil was about $118 per barrel, and today, where we are, oil is $41 per barrel.
“So, if it continues like that we will definitely find it difficult to continue. We have to sit down with the labour and see how we can review, either continue or downsize or what we are going to do. We want to find a solution because we have to be realistic that we have so many things to touch. There is an infrastructure deficit, there is a need for security, and there are other things like the social lives of our people and nation as a state.
“The receipt from the federation account, some people received N400 million, N500 million. Some others received N55 million, two digits. And there are other issues, not even the salary; their pension is over a billion. So, how can we continue borrowing and servicing the service aspect of our expenditure, or overhead? How can we do that?
“Therefore, we are saying that we should tighten our belts. Something definitely, we should sit down and come out of it to find a way we are going to do it realistically or otherwise.”
The dude further went on to argue why it was easy for both Governors Adams Oshiomole and Nyesom Wike of Edo and our Rivers States, respectively, to pay the 18K; Yari said that the States were rich with industries that in turn raised their Internally Generated Revenue, IGR.
He regretted that some states, such as his, were not that lucky, as most of their revenue-generating institutions had been shut down due to power shortages.
“For instance, in my state, the tiny state that is my own, which has more than 3 textile plants because of energy, all have been closed, and NNPC shut down. We have about 37 gunneries, and because of a shortage of power, they all closed down. And these are places where we can earn our revenue. You cannot in any way rub shoulders with Rivers, which has giant companies in oil exploration and has so many thousands of staff that are paying their dues when due.
One only needs to read to know that Nigerians are in trouble if Governor Yari’s view is a true representation of 90% of the men who oversee the affairs of the state. Apart from the salient issues of fiscal federalism he unconsciously raised, one can see that many of these men called governors lack the initiative to power the ships that they captain.
So, the men that are asking us to tighten our belts are the same men that, on a personal note, are entitled to four wives if Muslim, and a wife if a Christian, but scores of them keep a convent/harem of concubines, girlfriends,, and mistresses,’ In other words, as a governor in Nigeria you cannot/should not be faithful at home, by extension you owe those you govern very little and owe much to your harem/party and godfathers. How can they pay 18K?
Our governors who cannot pay 18K are entitled to senior special assistants/special assistants/advisers (both senior and junior), countless aides, and yes, consultants on various subject matters. This allows governors to spend an average of 11 full days only in a month at the office and in the state. The rest is spent gallivanting, weddings, naming ceremonies, birthdays, and death-day, church and mosque occasions, attending meetings in Abuja, and flexing in caucus meetings.
Of course, all these happen when they are not in Brazil, Kosovo, Kabul, or Kazakhstan seeking investors. In recent times, one governor has gone as far as Chelsea football club to watch football; (sorry) look for investors.
No governor in Nigeria spends an average of 4 hours every day, 15 days a month and 9 months a year in the office, taking his leave as at when due and handing over to the right person temporarily. But trust me, these ‘guys’ are working so hard—indeed, very HARD to pay 18K.
Our governors tell us how difficult the art of state governance is, and you sure would agree, that contending with the opposition, with political enemies from different camps, and spending billions unaccounted for must be one hell of a job.
Recently, I asked how much our governors earn for all their hard work. And very few could say. No wonder every one of them tells us how they were all millionaires before they became governors. Yet they cannot pay 18K!
Is there any Nigerian governor with just two cars, with kids in public schools, and less than N100M, then I will show you a lazy governor. Today in assets and cash, no governor is not a billionaire.
Beyond the 18K minimum wage, we need to start asking questions; we need to demand answers to issues of governance. An old axiom speaks of not touching a blind man’s hand while eating with him…for how long our leaders will continue to touch our hands while they eat–only time will tell.