Oshiomhole’s painstaking views on minimum wage

You cannot be bored with Comrade Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, of Edo State, anytime he takes to the podium. Just like his days as a fiery labour leader, Oshiomhole always wowed his listeners who often chanted that he should ‘ride on.’

He was at it again, on Wednesday, this week, in Abuja, at The Podium organised by the Kukah Centre for Faith, Leadership and Public Policy. The event had as its theme “From activism to political power: The challenges of democratic governance in Nigeria.” Seated among the packed hall were eminent Nigerians, past and serving public servants as well as rights activists.

While addressing the audience, Oshiomhole berated his fellow governors who have failed to meet part of their constitutionally-mandated roles, payment of salaries to their workers. Speaking, the Edo governor declared that it was criminal for any state governor not to pay his workers.

Hear him, “What I questioned and which I don’t accept is that you cannot have a centralised system of compensation for executives, governors, commissioners and local government chairmen. Their pay is centrally determined and the economy can afford that.

“What Lagos State governor is receiving is what Edo State governor is receiving. If we have a national compensation, how can these governors turn around and question the wisdom of a national wage structures for workers.

“It is that selective application of fiscal federalism that I found extremely offensive and unacceptable.

“Even today, I remain firm that we must maintain a national minimum wage and we must find ways to implement and adjust it to reflect the cost of living and it is the duty of government and employers to find the revenue to pay those they hired to work whether in private of government employed. Non-payment of wages is a criminal breach of contract whether in recession or prosperity,” (Emphasis the last sentence).

This is statement well said really. The Comrade governor hardly disappoints and this time, he spoke well. He actually spoke the minds of the Nigerian masses of whom civil servants are an integral part.

Oshiomhole’s outburst at Kukah Centre was really nothing new. He only re-echoed what had been the clamour of Nigerians all along. It surely gladdened the hearts of the oppressed Nigerian masses to hear that some of those we look at as role models, some of those we defy scorching sun to vote into power, are criminals.

Oshiomhole is in the best position to know how state governments are being run by chief executives of those states, having himself been one in the last eight years. So, his vituperation against ‘their Excellencies’ could not have been more apt.

Already, even many of Oshiomhole’s sworn enemies have commended his courage to lampoon his colleagues for their ineptitude to meet their core objectives as state governors, which is payment of their workers.

The Holy Books, having envisaged this scenario, had warned that ‘a workers deserve his wages’. But today, even those that are Christians among the governors do not remember this anymore.

It is not a problem for Nigerian leaders President, National Assembly members, state governors, local government chairmen, commissioners, and their spouses to draw their various convoluted allowances, but it is a ‘herculean task’ for the poorly remunerated civil servants to get their paltry take home. What a tragedy?

Apart from the sleaze called security vote, these state governors live larger than life far above their legitimate means. One even had the audacity to abandon his state duties to go watch English Premiership match in London the other day. Those are the kinds of people we have as leaders.  Not many of their aides would pray for them in the corners of their rooms as their lives are not in any way bettered than the time they were appointed.  Harsh economy and recession never affects our government officials. Their votes and contract returns come in uninterrupted. That is Nigeria for you.

But the comrade governor needs to go a step further beyond his declaration. He failed to tell his audience what should be done to criminal chiefs executive who could not pay their civil servants. His advice will be golden indeed.