A Professor of Industrial Relations and Personnel Management at the University of Ilorin, Ismaila Bolarinwa Kadiri, has lamented Nigeria’s poor wage structure, saying it is the major cause of industrial unrest across the country, low productivity and poverty among the generality of workers.
Kadiri, who stated this while delivering the institution’s 296th Inaugural Lecture titled “Let My Wage Take Me Home: Issues and Controversies”, said the growing gap between wages and the cost of living has reached a crisis level, noting that many Nigerians in full-time employment could no longer meet basic needs.
“A fair wage must be able to take the worker home,” Kadiri said, stressing that salaries should cover feeding, housing, transportation, healthcare, education and other essentials for workers and their dependants.
The Inaugural Lecturer linked Nigeria’s persistent industrial unrest to inadequate wages, citing data from the Nigeria Labour Congress showing an average of 15 to 20 strikes annually between 2,000 and 2,024.
According to him, most strikes by the Organised Labour, including those by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, were directly connected to wages that could not sustain workers.
“Many workers spend their salaries before they are paid and resort to loans to survive. Any policy that further weakens their earnings often leads to strikes,” he said.
Kadiri, who acknowledged concerns by some economists that higher wages could increase production costs and reduce profitability, argued that moderate wage increases would improve living standards without necessarily triggering inflation, if matched with productivity-enhancing measures.
He called for a review of Nigeria’s minimum wage determination process to reflect inflation and cost-of-living realities, urging government and labour unions to adopt evidence-based negotiations.
According to him, fair wages are central to employee motivation, productivity and career development, adding that poorly paid workers were less likely to commit to organisational goals or long-term career growth.
“No matter how much capital an organisation has, unmotivated labour will always result in inferior output,” he said.
Kadiri, however, described trade unions as vital instruments for industrial harmony and worker protection, urging them to strengthen collective bargaining beyond wages to include welfare and social protection.
He also noted that low wages had affected civil servants’ leave utilisation, as many viewed leave periods mainly as opportunities to reduce work-related expenses rather than rest and recuperation.
The Professor, however, stressed the need for a collective action by government, employers and labour unions to address the wage crisis, warning that failure to do so would sustain poverty, industrial instability and slow economic development.
“The progress of a society should be measured not by figures alone, but by the well-being of its people,” he said.
