Already the nation’s airports and seaports have been shut just like other government offices across the country. Presently the entire nation is in darkness because electricity workers have also joined the strike. The last blow that will break the camel’s back will be oil workers joining the strike.
Nigeria is currently going through one of its worst economic challenges in history, the exchange rate has been anything but stable with the value of naira going down by the day and inflation rate rising to as high as 33.69 percent and food inflation hitting 40.5 percent over the last one year.
These are arising from the reforms embarked upon by the Tinubu administration, especially the removal of fuel subsidy and the foreign exchange unification which have thrown the country into economic chaos.
The workers are demanding for more pay because of the escalating inflation which has raised the cost of goods and services thus eroding the value of their present salaries.
Some economists who spoke on the strike, while agreeing that the workers have a case, noted that the country is already bleeding.
They said that apart from compounding the nation’s economic problems, the strike would create fear and send wrong signals to foreign investors.
They were unanimous on the plight of Nigerians but warned that the industrial action would further destroy the economy, adding that the action would make investors lose confidence in the economy and shut funding opportunities to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
Professor Jonathan Aremu, an economic analyst said that the whole fight over minimum wage is simply because the economy is in a very bad shape.
According to him, “What the people want is not paper money, what they need is money that can meet their daily needs.
“The government should stabilise the exchange rate and bring down inflation. Farmers cannot go to their farms because of insecurity, the right thing to do is for the government to tackle insecurity so that farmers can produce more and that will bring down the cost of food and all these cry about minimum wage will end. Let us focus on getting macroeconomy right.”
Also speaking, Mr. Eze Onyekpere, a fiscal governance expert, said that the fact that the offices have been shut down, most of the services government and even the private sector are rendering have been cut off and that can lead to serious economic losses.
He said the strike also provides an opportunity for the nation to focus on the state of the economy, noting that the Nigerian economy is in a bad shape and cannot support any salary workers are paid.
“How can you run an economy the way we are running it and expect it to grow. The inflation is high, the exchange rate is not stable, so any amount you pay to the workers will amount to nothing.”