Development Economist, Dr. Nnaemeka Obiaraeri has aired his opinions concerning the constant talks about the minimum wage of Nigerian workers. While addressing this topic, he made it clear that not just the public servants should be mentioned when referring to Nigerian workers but also other workers who work for private organizations rounding up to 120 million adult workers in the nation.
He made a worrying claim that based on statistics out of 217 million people in Nigeria over 197 million of these people are poor, miserable, and also dehumanized. Dr Nnaemeka Obiaraeri made it clear that no worker in Nigeria ought to be earning less than 120,000 Naira as a minimum wage considering the currency devaluation and also the high cost of living. He brought out statistics that backed up his claim to show Nigerian workers aren't getting what they truly deserve from the Government.
In an interview with Arise News Television today, he said: "When you talk about Nigerian workers let's not make the mistake of restricting it to about 2 million civil servants in Nigeria who are also part of the public service including the appointed and elected public office holders. When we are talking about workers in Nigeria we are talking about 120 million adult working population in the country".
"If you look at the numbers clearly the World Bank poverty threshold is at $64.50 which is at 77,500 Naira at the current foreign exchange rate. This simply means anybody who is earning less than 77,500 Naira is within the poverty threshold as defined by the World Bank poverty index. If you are to look at it and juxtapose it with the report of Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, you will see clearly that over 197 million Nigerians out of a purported population of 217 million Nigerians are actually poor, miserable, dehumanized, and suffering".
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE.
(Start from 4:40)