Inflation, Insecurity Drive Nigerians into Worst Survival Crisis in History – NLC

Inflation, Insecurity Drive Nigerians into Worst Survival Crisis in History – NLC

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has issued a grim warning that Nigerian workers and the wider population are grappling with the worst survival crisis in the country’s history, driven by soaring inflation, deepening insecurity, poor wages, and the collapse of social protection systems.

The labour union said Nigerians are now worse off than workers in several African countries, including war-ravaged nations such as Somalia and Sudan, stressing that financial insecurity has become the defining reality for millions of households.

In a review of the nation’s economic and social conditions, NLC President, Joe Ajaero, said the current hardship surpasses the suffering experienced during the civil war era and past austerity measures, warning that daily survival has become a relentless struggle for workers.

According to Ajaero, Nigerian workers now sit “at the bottom of the ladder” compared to their African counterparts, as income from work no longer meets basic needs such as food, shelter and transportation. He noted that many workers are heavily stressed, unable to save, accumulate assets or plan for the future.

The NLC linked the crisis to the combined effects of widespread insecurity, including Boko Haram, ISWAP terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping, alongside worsening financial insecurity, which it described as both a consequence of violence and an independent driver of hardship.

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The union said Nigeria’s inflation rate, estimated at over 30 per cent in 2024, has severely eroded purchasing power, despite official claims of easing inflation by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). It added that real wages have stagnated or collapsed, with salaries failing to keep pace with rising prices.

Ajaero described the ₦70,000 national minimum wage as grossly inadequate, noting that the cost of a single bag of rice now exceeds the minimum wage, a situation he said should “prick the conscience of any responsible leader.”

The NLC further blamed the crisis on currency depreciation, which has driven up the cost of imported goods, fuel and services, as well as repeated fuel price hikes that have increased transportation and production costs across the economy.

According to the labour body, food inflation has made proper nutrition inaccessible to many families, with households spending as much as 80 per cent of their income on food. Rising unemployment and underemployment have also expanded the pool of desperate job seekers, depressing wages and fueling insecure, low-paying informal jobs.

The Congress highlighted weak social safety nets, noting that unemployment benefits, health insurance and pension coverage remain inadequate for most workers, especially those in the informal sector. Even within the formal sector, contributory pension schemes were described as insufficient due to low contributions and economic volatility.

Other pressures identified include the high cost of housing and transportation, forcing some workers to stay at their workplaces for days because they cannot afford daily commuting, as well as multiple taxation and deductions that further reduce take-home pay.

The NLC also decried rising electricity and telecommunications tariffs, highway tolls, and the burden of privately funding basic services such as power, water, security and healthcare due to failing public infrastructure.

Ajaero warned that inflation, insecurity, and poor wages have trapped Nigerian workers in a vicious cycle of financial precarity, where saving and investment are impossible and daily survival takes priority.

He called on the Federal Government to take urgent and decisive action to stabilise the economy, raise real incomes and strengthen social protections, warning that failure to act would continue to undermine workers’ well-being and Nigeria’s broader economic future.

Inflation, Insecurity Drive Nigerians into Worst Survival Crisis in History – NLC

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