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Hey guys, welcome to a special
MIDWEK episode of our Money Spaces. Of

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course, we're always talking about money, the economy and personal finance, and

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we're talking wages, wages, right
the minimum wage in Nigeria. Of course,

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what's going on is that the Nigerian
Liberal Congress and the Federation, let's

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put out with the Federation and negotiating
a brand new minimum wage for Nigeria.

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As we know, NIS minimum with
is about thirty thousand. All up,

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guys, it's about thirty thousand naira. If you converted to dollars, that's

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don't even try to convert that.
That's really really low. So of course

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the wage has got to go up. The problem is this the Labor Congress

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is asking for. I think last
time I saw the number about four hundred

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and something thousand, just like just
this four hundred thousand, it's about two

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hundred and eighty six dollars or something
like that. Yeah, that's what they're

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asking for. The federal government,
I understand, has given them sixty thousand.

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I'm hearing ninety thousand that they are
often to the ragionar Leabel Congress,

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so call up the strike and that
becomes the minimum wage in Nigeria. So

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I think just to good as you
talk about minimum wage in general, how

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it affects you, and how of
course it can affect Nigeria, and if

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labor is right to request for the
minimum wage, and how perhaps can we

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get out of this conundrum that we
find ourselves with the federal government and label.

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So just first is first, minimum
wage just means what it says minimum

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wage. That means that you cannot
as an employer paid below that wage.

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You can pay more, but you
can't pay below. In Nigeria and mostly

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all regions, minimum wage usually a
federal wage, but states can take on

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that wage and increase it, like
the state's minimum which is seven point twenty

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five dollars an hour. Many states
pay fifteen, but you just can't go

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below seven point twenty five in Nigeria. So in Nigeria the same thing.

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It's a federal system. So testy
thousand is paid by federal states even lookal

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government areas. So that's just the
background to it. Now you have to

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agree somewhat with labor stance. Inflation
is thirty three percent, food infliction is

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forty percent. The economy has really
really collapsed. If you had a million

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dollars, say in the near nineteen
ninety nine, it's what not a millionaire

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today. It's really gone down in
purchasing power. So Label's points is very

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very simple. As the purchasing power
has gone down, we want to get

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an increase in our wages that can
allow us to even live. We're not

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looking for logship. We just want
to live. So four hundred thousand,

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they feel would compensate for the loss
of income already and would also allow them

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hedge against the inflation that would occur. That's how I see what they are

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doing. They're like, hey,
yes, we want to get paid now,

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but we also think if this is
going to go up in the future,

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so let's get all this undred k
in now and sit on it.

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Right. The problem is that the
federal government is saying they cannot pay four

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hundred thousands. And this is a
unique station where both sides are correct.

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Labor is correct they need to a
pay increase, and the federal government is

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actually correct that they cannot pay four
hundred As a matter of fact, I

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did some numbers. I doubt the
federal government can pay even one hundred thousand.

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The problem is this, the federal
government has been a very very bad

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manager, not just off money,
but of their image. The Federal government's

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image has been dented by the way
it has carried its business, the way

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it speaks, even the way the
National Assembly has carried itself. They have

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damaged the federation. When I say
the federation, I mean the Federal Stata.

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Look at government there is the how
they come across is that they're on

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caring, that they are only interested
in themselves and that they do not want

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the workers to should we say,
have a living wage. The National Assembly

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imported cars for themselves. SUVs imported
these cars and when they were asked for

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it said because the roads are bad, okay, why not you buy Nigeria

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subs oh, because the foreign ones
are better. So the National Assembly could

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import cars and spend dollars. But
National Stibly is now asking the workers to

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understand the situation on grand that they
cannot fund four hundred thousands for the workers.

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Again, like I said, both
sides are correct. The National a

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stimbilis correct they cannot pay fore hundred
thousands, but the workers are also correct.

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They need not just a living wage, but the way that is indexed

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for inflation. Going forward, but
the National Assembly, the federal governments have

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run the economy and the up in
such a manner that they are no longer

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should we say abbitrus. They did
not have the equity to ask anyone to

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cut costs because they haven't caught costs. And I think that's what the negotations

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are breaking down. If the administration
these guys will have today, Im Sertainable

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had come into power and on day
one he had drawn an austerity budget.

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He had cut down frivolities, He
had not bought SUVs or yours. He

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had essentially just ran things the way, very very lean. I doubt that

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he would have sinusuation where today the
label guys have been asking for foruntred thousands.

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Even if they had acted, he
would have told them, you see,

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I have cut down my expenses.
I mean plenty answer report. I

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don't think I'm able to pay you
guys for inred thousands. And they would

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have negotiated. But because he hasn't
managed their relationship perfectly, I think that's

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what's holding him back. So I
talk about the figures more, but I

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don't hear from you guys. What
do you guys think? The title says,

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how much should we pay four hundred
K one hundred k and all that.

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I also have my idea on how
I think we can break the impasse.

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But let me just say by the
numbers, just the numbers alone.

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I don't think the federal government can
afford hundred and I know no state,

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including Legos, can afford hundred thousand
minimum wage to pay. The idea is

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not that they afford to pay today, is the sustainability of paying that.

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It's not the wage, it's the
economy. The economy has got to support

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the wage. The wage cannot be
artificial. What I mean is this.

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You can't have a shop where you
are selling pure water and then you are

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paying your manager. That's sending you
a pure Worter one millioner because you want

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your manager to have a living wage. No, you either get you the

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manager and you do it yourself,
or you don't have you you don't sell

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pure worter. Maybe you sell champagne. You see the point I'm making.

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You can sell pure water and pay
the seller one million because the pure water

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business, the center of pure water, cannot carry one millionaire salary. It's

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not the salad as the problem,
it's what you are selling pure water.

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So it's not the wage that's the
problem. Is the niger economy that's the

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problem. S three, you're the
first guest hopping real quick, what's your

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take on this? Stue? Like
I said, we all support the NLC

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to get to this increase, but
what's your take? Really? Do you

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think what number is on your head? And do you think we can afford

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it? Go ahead? Es Tree
is not there, so let me go

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to my DMS Calu. Respectfully,
I disagree with you. I think Nigeria

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can pay one hundred thousand, and
they can even pay four hundred thousand.

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They simply have got to cut down
on the waste that we are seeing.

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And that's what really you are saying
that if Nigeria cuts down on the waist.

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Hey, guys, can you hear
me? Just tumble if you can

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hear me? Really, I think
I was muted, Estra, can you hear me