UK-Based Nigerians Earning £2,600 Worse Off Than Someone On ₦60k In Nigeria — Bwala

Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has said a Nigerian working in the United Kingdom and earning between £2,600 and £2,800 monthly could, in some respects, be worse off than someone earning ₦60,000 in Nigeria.

He spoke during an appearance on the Morayo Afolabi Brown Show which aired on Wednesday.

Bwala broke down the cost of living for Nigerian workers in the UK, saying the income was quickly eroded by expenses.

He said, “When they go there and do a job, on average they earn about £2,600 or £2,800 a month.

“2,450 goes off. You pay power, internet, TV, rent. When you put them together, rent alone is about 800.

“Even if you are living in the outskirts of London. You get, you put all of them together, then you talk about feeding and the rest.

He linked the resulting hardship to reports of Nigerians dying on the streets of London, and argued that such workers were, in some ways, worse off than a Nigerian earning far less at home.

“At the end of the day, what you are left with is not much. So you are forced to do two, three jobs. That’s why recently you are seeing in London, they say somebody died by the roadside. There are conditions like that,” he added.

Comparing the UK-based worker with a Nigerian earning ₦60,000 in Nigeria, he said, “So now, I will compare that person with a Nigerian here that is collecting 60,000.

“I’m just giving an example. That person is farther than you, right? That’s why people in U.S. and other places, they send money more than people who are in U.K. Now, that 60,000, at least Auntie Abike can loan you money. Uncle Soso and Soso can support you.

“And then what you are paying, what we are paying in power. The things we pay for in terms of social services here are almost zero as compared to that place. But your problem now is that you don’t have enough to build a house or to buy a car.

“That other person is not even about a car. He may not even get it in the next 20 years. You will get a car, he’s still looking for it,”

But because there are certain services provided for him. Good infrastructure, access to medical care, all of those things, he is more comfortable. That is where President Bola Tinubu comes in.

Bwala spoke in response to a question from an audience member, Moyo Alabi, who recounted witnessing a large crowd at the Visa Facilitation Services centre around Ikeja, Lagos, and asked what policies the Federal Government had introduced to address emigration driven by poverty, insecurity and unemployment.

He said Nigerians who leave the country for the UK, even with strong academic qualifications, often end up in menial jobs he likened to servitude.

“Let me adjust my seat because I want to tell you today, some of you in Nigeria who think you are suffering, you’re better off than your colleagues that japa five years ago

“I am a resident of the United Kingdom. A Nigerian that finished with first class or second class, now moves to the UK and then adds another degree. You know the majority of them where they are working? Care homes.

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s modern-day slavery. What they call it where I come from,it’s called ‘mereno’ it’s less than a house girl’s job because there are certain things a house girl cannot do, but the type of jobs they get there is less demanding than that of a house girl, even as a master’s degree holder,” he said.

He narrated an experience involving a friend who, despite already working, took up an additional job in a warehouse where he met other Nigerian professionals — PhD and master’s degree holders, labouring under a supervisor without a secondary school education.

Bwala said the Federal Government had introduced healthcare interventions to ease pressure on citizens at home, including a 50 per cent subsidy on dialysis in federal hospitals and free Caesarean section services.

“He (Tinubu) now introduced policies that will address that. Now, with respect to the health care, we have a health care scheme. Yesterday I was with the governor of Lagos.

“He talked about the health care scheme they have in Lagos. President Bola Tinubu introduced 50% subsidy on dialysis in any federal hospital.

“Where I come from, in the north, kidney problems requiring dialysis are almost a pandemic. Caesarean sections, too, people in local areas die from complications during these procedures. But he has now made that free,” he said, referring to Tinubu.

He added that the government’s ability to extend such subsidies to private hospitals and other prescription drugs was currently limited by available resources.