The protesters, including elderly men and women, say that 75 per cent of retired workers currently survive on a monthly pension of ₦15,000—a sum they regard as wholly insufficient, especially when compared to the national minimum wage set at ₦70,000. They insist the pension should be adjusted to at least ₦60,000.
The current moment in Nigeria is instructive. Economic reform, subsidy removal and currency adjustments have raised the political salience of wages and welfare; unions are responding to the erosion of purchasing power just as much as to broken promises. If leadership wants fewer strikes, it must treat labour peace not as a policing problem but as a governance challenge requiring transparent budgets, credible timelines and institutional investment.
For professionals, the sobering conclusion is this: “enough” is negotiable, contingent and strategic. It is negotiable because individuals can shape their value through skills, reputation and mobility. It is contingent because personal circumstances—location, dependants, and career stage—alter the arithmetic.
