…says govt not fair to Nigerian workers in minimum wage

By James Ogunnaike, Abeokuta

A legal expert, Barr. Kehinde Bamiwola, has called for urgent reform of the labour laws in the country, saying that this will further protect employees’ rights and set forth employers’ obligations and responsibilities.

He also berated government on the approval of N70,000 minimum wage for workers, positing that this shows that government is not committed to enhance welfare of its workforce.

Bamiwola, who bared his mind while speaking with journalists on the sideline of the public presentation of his two new books; “Practical Approach To Labour Law in Nigeria” and “Logic For Critical Thinking and Cross Examination”, in
Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, lamented series of challenges being faced by Nigerian workers at their work places.

He said, “it is disheartening to see workers being retrenched indiscriminately, workers being sacked for belonging to a trade union which is their constitutional right”.

“Workers will retire and years after, they will not receive their pension because the Pension act is not being implemented faithfully. All of these must be corrected”.

The public presentation had in attendance the Chief Judge of Ogun State, Justice Mosunmola Dipeolu represented by Justice Adebisi Femi-Segun, the President, Ogun State Customary Court of Appeal, Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Mr. Sina Ogungbade represented by the Permanent Secretary and Solicitor General, Mr Segun Olaotan, Justice Benedict Kanyip, President, National Industrial Court of Nigeria represented by Justice Sanders Yelwa among other notable lawyers and judges from the state.

Speaking further on the minimum wage for Nigerian workers, the legal expert insisted that with the prevailing economic situation of the country, riddled with inflation, no worker should earn less N250,000 as minimum wage.

Bamiwola said, “Nigerian government is not fair to the workers or what will N70,000 minimum wage buy or do for the workers in the face of the skyrocketing inflation and prices of things?”

“I can’t enter any ‘amala’ joint now and not spend at least N1,500 per meal, multiply that for a month, I need to transport myself to office, my children will eat, I will see to their health and education. What kind of magic will N70,000 do in this situation?

“I think that with the current state of the country’s economy, the minimum wage for the workers should not be less than N250,000. So, it is so clear that as far as the remuneration of workers is concerned, Nigeria government has not been fair to the workers.

“How much is a dollar to a naira now. Several years back when I was in the primary school, it used to be dollar to N2, but how much is it now? If you convert N70,000 to dollar or pound, how much will you have. So the minimum wage act should be reviewed because it’s so clear that what the government is doing is not logical as we do say in law”

He challenged youths to rise above their challenging background to build an enviable career for themselves, saying that if he could moved from being a refrigerator repairer to a lawyer and author, then nobody should hide under any excuse for not fulfilling their God’s given vision in life.

He said, “though I started as fridge repairer, but at age 41, after a part time study in Economics, I enrolled for Law at the University of Lagos and was called to bar at age 47”.

“At 50, I went back to the University of Lagos for a Masters Degree in Law and finished best with a 4.64CGPA graduating with a distinction while also breaking 27 years record earlier set in the university”.

“I am already studying for my PhD in law, so it is a case of where there is a will, there must be a way. It is a lesson that no one should hide under one excuse for failure in life”, he added.

“I will be 60 in October, but I am still pursuing my goal. I have read about many people with rough backgrounds and who made it in life, likewise myself. If I could succeed, others too can succeed with strong faith in God, commitment and dedication to diligence”.

Bamiwola disclosed that he wrote the two books to contribute to the bodies of knowledge in the legal profession.

He stated, “once you started legal study from your 100 level at the university, you’re forever sentenced to a life long learning and contribution to upscaling knowledge in the profession and I am also just fulfilling my duty to further develop the legal profession with the two books”

Speaking at the event, The Chief Judge of Ogun State, Justice Mosunmola Dipeolu represented by the President, Customary Court of Appeal, Justice Adebisi Femi-Segun, congratulated the author for his thorough research jobs with the two books describing them as good assets to further enriching the legal profession.

The Chief Judge said that in the age of instant information and the challenge posed by Artificial Intelligence, the enduring value of well researched books written by diligent and highly cerebral lawyers like Barr. Bamiwola cannot be overemphasized

Justice Dipeolu said that the two books would no doubt become handy for both the legal practitioners and students and would undoubtedly impact the legal profession for good.

On his part, the Chairman of the occasion, Prof. Doyin Awoyale from the University of Lagos also commended Barr. Bamiwola for his steadfastness and love for the legal profession, describing the two books as highly informative and dependable reference materials for the people in the legal profession.

There were also goodwill messages from the former Dean of Law Faculty, University of Lagos and incumbent Dean of Law, Anchor University, Lagos State, Prof Chioma Agomo, Mr Sina Ogungbade, the Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General represented by Mr Segun Olaotan, Justice Sanders Yelwa who represented President, National Industrial Court, Barr Samson Kayode, Chairman, NBA, Ilaro Branch, the chairman of Ipokia Local Government area of Ogun State, Hon Avoseh Johnson among others.

Caption

From left Justice Adebisi Femi-Segun, President, Ogun State Customary Court of Appeal leading others to unveil the two new books written by Labour Law expert, Barr. Kehinde Bamiwola in Abeokuta.