It is like being backstabbed and betrayed. That is why I term it the worst thing that can ever happen to you. We have all had our moments of promise and fail politicians or even promise and fail brothers and sisters. It hurts when they leverage on one psychology and turn back to eat their words.

Tales of woe and betrayal

Same thing happened over the past weekend. It was a joint statement by the trade unions I read on of those online tabloids. The trade unions actually put up #30,000 for the minimum wage scheme. But it turned out that Chris Ngige broke our hearts with his very depressing statement. He insisted that the minimum wage will only move from #19,800 to #24,000.

For him, approving the minimum wage is not a measure of the need to improve workers welfare but the viability of the state governors in each state to pay. You mean the state governors that live lavishly on taxpayers’ money? The ones that bribe, steal and loot funds all the time? The ones that owe workers for long periods? Like Ekiti and Osun? Or the other states that can’t bail out themselves?

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Financial Implications of the Minimum Wage

The financial implication of the minimum wage is not encouraging either. I learnt Nigeria’s inflation falls at 12%. Someone did an actual evaluation of the #24,000 and told me that the money difference will still not be felt in the final analysis. In other words, he was telling me that the increment will not be different from when it was still #19,800.

Steve Dede, a corp member was enlightening me last evening, when I argued with him that the minimum wage in other countries was about #50,000 (This was the last time I checked in some article I read). Dede told me on the other hand that even if the minimum wage was increased to 50K, the forces of demand and supply will rival themselves, not forgetting our heightened inflation rate.

“We are all greedy in this country,” Dede said. “If the Okada man or market woman hears that the increment is 50K, they will increase the cost of their goods and services and we will be back to the same place once again with civil servants unable to save.” It was so true the observation he made. It made me end the argument abruptly.

You see our problem in this country is multifaceted. Imagine how the minimum wage will affect inflation just because we don’t have an adequate pricing system. In Nigeria at large, take Jos for instance. For every route you board a vehicle, you must haggle the distance over price- every single time. So you see, the change we need in this country is still a long way coming.

Read Also:Minimum Wage: Organised Labour threatens strike, Nov. 6

2019 Election more important than allawee increase

The last time my Dad and I spoke, he wondered why I didn’t pay for my Digital Marketing course on time. He did send me some money earlier in the year, that was before the announcement of #49,800 increment for corp members. I was the only one who didn’t believe the news.

If you know the whims and caprices of this current government and the height of their PR stunts, you would know better, and choose what to believe. I had narrated my financial woes to my Dad- this only happens once in a while since I am a man now. He gave me some money then, I used it for something more pressing.

So I had to wait for the next allawee- still #19,800 to cover my 14K Digital Marketing Certification fee. I wonder why they call the course “subsidized” for corp members though, when it truly tears the pocket!

My Dad wondering why I had to take long to pay the money retorted over the phone:

“I thought your allawee has now increased. I heard it is #49,800 now.”

My response was a sarcastic laughter. I responded:

“Dad, do you think Buhari will increase our allawee now that the general elections are approaching?” “Sir,” I stressed further, “Buhari has more things in his mind than us bloody corpers, besides he will have to consider increasing the minimum wage for all sectors as well. I am not sure he is ready for all that, it’s a joke Sir.”

My response was epic. I could imagine my Dad wondering what was happening to me, his son that I had to give him that answer. My Dad and I have the gene of bluntness in our genes but he never loves to lose. Be it an argument, banter or anything at all.

My Dad still spent more minutes on the phone. I promised him a screenshot of the next payment and the month after. That was middle of August this year. Elleh Prince my lovely friend who redeployed away from here said it would be effective September and not August. Either way, I said.

Read Also: NYSC raises corpers' hope again as DG speaks on allowance increase

Months later, Federal Government does nothing

When the credit alert for August allawee came in, I sent it to my Dad and Mum. September also, where is Prince now and all the others blaming a pessimistic me? No more. Allawee hasn’t changed, that’s why the screenshot is in this article- is the same and the new minimum wage is #24,000. Barely enough for a family of 4 dependants, a man and his woman.

The grim reality

Nobody should be earning #19,800 or #24,000 in our world today. You know the bad part about it for corpers, not civil servants now; the bad part is that there is no hazard allowance, insurance- I know many of us don’t own cars, but there are no health fringe benefits. Some things are called better work environments; Nigeria terrain doesn’t support that, nor the Place of Primary Assignments (PPAs). Yet they will work you so tired like a horse and tell you sorry when you are sick.

There is no health insurance, so they can’t treat you and some PPAs won’t even let you go on sick leave. In the end, they will threaten you and evaluate your passing out 2b forms poorly. I had a friend in that predicament and the build-up to that experience was sad.

Yet he was committed, though the resolution is still in the works. We hope for no extensions, maybe someone can say an amen to that.

With all these grammar you just read, allawee is still #19,800 barely enough to last any corp member 28 days, talkless of 31. It is worse when they delay it; it is like you are out of life support. Allawee is still #19,800 with nothing being done about it.

Written by Joseph Olaoluwa.

Joseph Olaoluwa is an award-winning poet, Journalist, script writer, and Social Media expert. He has a strong passion for arts, especially poetry. He currently writes Features for the Nigerian Standard Newspaper in Jos. He also freelances for the Nation newspapers and is a Pulse Blogger as well. He tweets not too frequently  @theminentmuyiwa.