How Could a Decent Minimum Wage Help to Reduce Insecurity?

Introduction

• Nigeria’s Insecurity Crisis: The Wage-Peace Nexus
• Pervasive National Threat

Insecurity now destabilizes every layer of Nigerian society, creating systemic vulnerability.

• Poverty’s Violent Consequences

Unemployment and extreme poverty serve as primary accelerants for criminality and social unrest.

• Minimum Wage as Security Policy

Establishing a living wage isn’t just economic justice-it’s a foundational security strategy to defuse desperation-driven violence.

• Wages as Social Glue

When survival wages force Nigerians into daily hardship:

• Poverty-stoked resentment fuels scapegoating
• Ethnic/xenophobic tensions replace solidarity
• Tribal divisions fracture national unity
• The Unity Dividend

Fair compensation transforms “us vs them” into collective progress-turning survival struggles into shared nation-building.

1. Poverty fuels desperation
2. Survival Instincts Override Morality: When basic needs like food, shelter, and healthcare become unattainable, individuals may resort to theft, robbery, or other crimes as a means of survival.
3. Desperation Breeds Recklessness: Even law-abiding citizens, pushed by extreme poverty, can be driven to make destructive choices they would otherwise condemn.
4. Frustration Fuels Radicalization: The hopelessness of poverty makes marginalized population’s vulnerable to recruitment by violent groups offering purpose or resources.

• A decent wage gives youth better choices than crime
• Disarms Terrorist Recruitment

Unemployed youth become easy targets for extremist groups offering survival wages. A living wage removes this deadly economic coercion, turning human potential away from violence.

• Heals Societal Abandonment

When youth feel ignored by systems meant to protect them, gangs/cults fill the void with false belonging. Fair pay signals “You matter,” restoring faith in legitimate paths.

• Creates Hope-Fueled Alternatives

Where poverty forces “crime or starvation” choices, decent wages build bridges to:

• Skills-based careers (not weapons)
• Community contribution (not destruction)
• Future-building (not fatalism)

• Economic empowerment builds dignity
• People who earn fairly feel respected and valued.
• This reduces anger and frustration that can lead to violence or protests.
• With dignity comes a desire to protect and improve the community.

• Consistent income provides essential family support
• Parents with steady income can provide for their families, ensuring children receive education, which in turn reduce pressure on the next generation.
• Secure families contribute to building peaceful and more productive communities.

• Fair wages grow the economy
• The more workers earn, the more they spend.
• This create a viable economy, boosts local businesses, and increases money circulation, which ultimately reduces poverty and by extension reduces tensions and violence.
• Everyone benefits when money flows through the economy.

• Fair pay reduces petty corruption
• Poorly paid workers create vulnerabilities for corrupt practices in both public and private sectors.
• When salaries are fair, there’s less pressure/motivation to act corruptly.
• This builds integrity and public trust.

• Government gains trust through fair pay
• When the government ensures decent wages, it shows citizens that their welfare matters.
• This builds trust between leaders and the people, which is key to long-term peace and cooperation.

The Link to Xenophobia and Ethnic Tension

• Low wages and high unemployment do not only cause crime, they also create deep divisions in society.
• When people are struggling to survive, they often look for someone to blame. This blame is frequently directed at other ethnic groups or foreigners, leading to xenophobia, tribal hate, and ethnic discrimination.
• In Nigeria, we’ve seen how economic hardship fuels anger between communities. People begin to say things like:
• – ‘They are taking our jobs.’
• – ‘Our people are suffering because of them.’
• – ‘They control everything while we have nothing.’
• This kind of mindset spreads fear, hatred, and violence. But when there are fair-paying jobs available to everyone, and a decent minimum wage is enforced, the pressure to compete in a hostile way is reduced.
• A decent wage helps all Nigerians-regardless of tribe, religion, or background-feel included and valued. It reduces the feeling that one group is being favored over another, and builds a shared sense of national identity.
• Fighting xenophobia and ethnic tension starts with fairness. And fairness starts with giving every Nigerian the chance to earn a decent living.

Conclusion

• Minimum wage is more than an economic issue-it is a tool, an instrument for peace building.
• A decent wage can protect families, youth and the nation at large.
• If we want true security and unity, we must first ensure fairness and dignity for all Nigerians.

Download the pdf version with the link below:
https://socialistlabour.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Minimum_Wage_Xenophobia_edited1.pdf