Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, has candidly described Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, as “a very poor country.”
He made these remarks during an interview on national TV and reported by Dailytrust, highlighting significant economic disparities between Nigeria and other African countries.
Onanuga emphasized that the perception of Nigeria’s wealth is inflated, asserting that the country’s resources are exaggerated by its citizens. He pointed out the stark contrast in minimum wage levels between Nigeria and countries like Kenya and South Africa, underscoring the significant disparity in purchasing power.
He said, “This N1 million may be relevant if the value of the Naira continues to depreciate; if the inflation continues to depreciate. The demand for Labour is equally dependent on what is happening in society. You will remember that by the time we contemplated N200,000, the exchange rate was about N900. Today, the exchange rate is about N1,400 or even more.”
He further illustrated the wage disparity by citing the salaries of high-ranking officials, noting that the earnings of Nigerian Chief Justice pale in comparison to their counterparts in South Africa.
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