•Peter Obi
Amid the ongoing debate on what should be the right minimum wage that will be commensurate with the prevailing harsh economic realities the Nigerian workers currently grapple with in the country, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in 2023 election, Peter Obi, has relayed how the free fall of the naira has taken a drastic toll on the livelihood and monthly income of Nigerian professors.
Worried by the consistent cry of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) over the insufficiency of the extant N30,000 national minimum wage, which expires next month, the federal government on Tuesday inaugurated the tripartite committee on the national minimum wage.
Launched by Vice President Kashim Shettima, the 37-member panel had been mandated to speedily recommend a new national minimum wage for the country, which the NLC said may be negotiated within the range of N100,000 and 200,000 considering the country’s current economic situation.
But while lending his voice to the debate via his official X handle today, the former Anambra State governor was particularly concerned about how the low living wage had made life unbearable for Nigerian highest-rank academics, whose monthly income, he said, has languished pitiably at N400,000 for almost two decades.
He said going by the prevailing exchange rate of N1,510 per dollar, an average professor in the country earns $265 monthly, saying this partly explains why the country is grappling with low human capital index (HDI).
He said: “My mission in Nsukka was for two important events. First, was to visit and assess a dilapidated health center, and second, to campaign for one of the federal legislators, Hon Dennis Agbo, contesting to represent Udenu/Igbo Eze North Federal Constituency in the forthcoming bye-election on Saturday. I believe this legislator is committed to the good of his people. But while in Nsukka, I met one of those brilliant fellows. I knew while I was a student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in the 80s.
“The fellow graduated with a first class and became a lecturer in the institution. When I later visited the University as the then Governor of Anambra State, he proudly announced that he was already a professor and I rejoiced with him. I met him again in Nsukka on Wednesday, but our exchange of pleasantries resulted in very pathetic tales about his general welfare. I noticed in his look and mien that all his happiness of being a professor had vanished.
“He began his story by telling me that he felt like he wasted all his years lecturing. He dragged his pitiful story into his current remuneration as a professor. According to him, his salary as of January 31, 2010, which is 14 years ago remains the same to date, having reached the pinnacle of his career. The only significant difference is that while the money was worth something in 2010, today the same amount is worth nothing.
“The Professor recalled how he could buy a Toyota Corolla from his savings, something that is not possible again today. I asked for his salary today, he said about N400,000. He broke my heart when he requested that I put in words for him so that Honourable Dennis Agbo can appoint him as Special Adviser when he wins.
“The reason for the bizarre request that shocked me was that he would earn more and receive more perks as an SA than as a Professor. Touched by this and applying my finance background I decided to do some comparative analysis. By January 31, 2010, the salary of a Nigerian University Professor was about N400,000. With the then prevalent exchange rate of N150.10 per dollar, the salary amounted to about $2665.
“Fourteen years later, on January 31, 2024, the salary of a University professor remains about N400,000. With the prevailing exchange rate of N1,510 per dollar, the same salary now amounts to about $265.
“So after putting in 14 years of hard work, having attained the zenith of his academic career, a Nigerian University professor now earns 10 percent of what he earned 14 years ago – this is only possible in Nigeria,” he stated.
