BY VICTORIA NGOZI IKEAN

In a piece titled, “A May Day like no other” written some two days before its publication date of May 1, 2017, I stated that one did not have to be a soothsayer to predict that that year’s May Day a.k.a. Workers’ Day celebration would be mooted; that it would be devoid of the carnival-like atmosphere that characterised May Days in past years wherein workers from various sectors , dressed in colourful segmented uniformed attires and armed with the symbols of their trades marched convivially before select dignitaries in packed mini stadiums and squares amidst background drums, songs and music. The mood amongst workers during last year’s May Day was, to say the least, sombre as the average Nigerian worker grappled with the challenges of keeping body and soul together as well as catering to the basic necessities of his family, namely, food, shelter, clothing plus healthcare and education. In Abuja the federal capital territory, the commemoration of the 2017 edition at the Eagles Square ended in confusion as assembled workers sought to vent their anger on government officials, led by the Labour Minister, Dr. Chris Ngige, resulting in hurried dispersal of guests. I concluded that article by asking, ‘Will 2018 May Day be better? We await what it will have in stock’.
Well, May 2018 is here. Fundamentally the problems remain the same but there is some little difference this year. For one, prices of foodstuff are beginning to stabilise, at least prices of goods are not rising literally every week as used to be the case as at May of last year. Officially, the country’s inflation rate is down comparatively. More importantly, workers are awaiting some cheering news in the form of a new minimum wage that the labour movement had been demanding since 2016. A tripartite committee had been set up to thrash out the issue and it has concluded its assignment. Government is promising that the new minimum wage will come into effect by July. There are no exact numbers as yet but figures being suggested range from N50, 000 to N150, 000. Minister Ngige would probably let us know on this May Day.
Whatever the figure and much as it is deserved because of diminishing purchasing power of workers, will it really make a difference to their pockets considering that market women and market men would similarly jerk up prices of their wares upon its announcement to the general public? Moreover, without any comparative increase in federation allocation to states will the state governments be able match up with the new salaries? In the face of any very significant rise in international oil price (our major foreign exchange and revenue earner) or special financial support package to the states, to boost their treasuries will those of them that are lagging behind in payment of salaries and wages as well as others, be able to cope with the additional expenditure? The state governments could find a way round it by retrenching staff, increasing internally generated revenue (bringing more people and items into the tax net and increasing the rate itself) and borrowing. With the general elections fast approaching some of these options could be seen as anti-people and fraught with political price. Labour’s argument will be that governments can always find the money to pay for a new minimum wage bill by checking corruption within it, plugging financial leakages and setting its priorities (by way of what projects to execute) right.
In truth the percentage of salaried people or those who earn regular monthly incomes, that is, those who are fully employed is small in comparison to the total population. A good percentage of our populace is either unemployed or under employed. This puts further stress on the worker as the number of people dependent on him/her rises. And with purchasing power shrinking due to inflation, it does not also require a soothsayer to know that this could lead to frayed nerves.
Unemployment is a curse; under-employment a lesser curse while those that are lucky to get fulltime jobs now bear a greater burden – having to feed more mouths amongst their unemployed and underemployed household members and families. What is more, salaries and wages are no longer regular, they are epileptic . Workers no longer joyfully keep tab of the days of the month in expectation of the 30th day of each month as there is no certainty as to when or if they would get their pay at end of each month. Thus hope is replaced with depression. Many Nigerians seek solace in religious activities; others seek to drink away their concealed sorrows and depression but as even the price of alcoholic drinks have soared, they are flocking to local brews – burukutu, ogogoro, etc. Still others go to the extreme of smoking or taking intoxicants, some of which I understand are now sold over the counter in many places. All of these however, provide only temporary relief; they do not remove the underlying causes which are rooted in social and economic crises.
Notwithstanding the external pretensions, people are increasingly in need of physical healing (hypertension and depression) and healing of the soul, culminating in the seeking to answers to the great questions of life, namely, what is the goal of a life on earth; why are we here, where do we go from here; why is there suffering and injustice on earth, why are some born into earthly opulence and ‘enjoyment’ and some others condemned to a life-time of penury and earthly sufferings; why can we not all be truly happy here on earth from the day we are born to the day we take our last breath, why is there hatred, why, why, why…?.. How true it is that people remember the Almighty only in bad times, when we are hit by the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Yet, we should think of God always, He being the support of our continued existence.
IKEANO, 08033077519 vikeano@yahoo.co.uk writes from Lafia.