Workers’ Day: ASUU urges FG to address plight of workers, security crisis

As Nigeria marked this year’s Workers’ Day, the Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto chapter, Professor Nurudeen Almustapha, called on the Federal Government to urgently address the plight of Nigerian workers and the worsening security crisis in the country.

Speaking in an interview with newsmen during the May Day celebrations in Sokoto, the ASUU Chairman emphasised that the day should serve as a period of reflection for leaders on the deteriorating conditions of workers across the country.

“May Day is a day normally set aside to reflect on the condition of workers generally,” he said.

“Our leaders ought to use this day to genuinely assess how workers are faring. Right now, workers are in a very difficult situation due to the economic hardship prevailing in the country.”

He lamented that most Nigerian workers rely solely on their salaries, which have become grossly inadequate in the face of skyrocketing prices of essential commodities.

“If you look at the market situation today, the salary can’t take the average worker home. The minimum wage the government claimed to have reviewed is far from being a reflection of the reality we are living in,” he explained.

“Since May 29, 2023, the prices of goods have doubled, tripled, even quadrupled, while the salary increment was merely 40,000 naira for the lowest grade level.”

Clarifying common misconceptions about the wage increase, the Chairman said, “The 40,000 naira increment applies only to those on Grade Level 1, whose previous salary was around 30,000 naira. They now receive about 70,000 naira.

“For senior staff and those on higher grades, the increment is far less, sometimes not even up to 20,000 naira. The formula used by the government remains a mystery even to labour leaders.”

He also raised concerns about insecurity in the country, particularly in Sokoto and other northern states, warning that continued government inaction could have dire consequences.

“Insecurity has become a norm in Nigeria, and it’s affecting everyone, especially the poor and vulnerable.

“Look at eastern Sokoto; people are being slaughtered daily for no reason. Children are roaming the streets because their parents have been killed, their villages destroyed, and there’s no hope for education or livelihood,” he said.

The Chairman stressed that Nigeria has the resources and capacity to end insecurity but questioned the political will to do so.

“We have helped end conflicts in other countries, yet for over a decade, we have failed to resolve our own.

“If nothing is done now, these displaced and neglected children will grow into a generation of hopeless youths, posing a much bigger threat in the near future.”

He appealed to the government to act decisively to improve workers’ welfare and end insecurity. “This is not just a labour issue; it is a matter of national survival,” he concluded.

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