Surging fuel prices in Nigeria are making it unaffordable for some workers to commute to their jobs, forcing them to quit. The trend is hitting low-income and informal workers especially hard.
Fuel in Nigeria now averages 66 cents per liter, a 15% hike since September.
The price surge forced Victor Zion to quit his job, as commuting costs consumed the lion’s share of his $85 monthly salary.
Zion said that what’s left of his income after transportation expenses could no longer keep him afloat.
“When it happened that there was an increment in the cost of transportation, I spent up to 70% of my salary on transportation and that didn’t make sense to me at all,” he said. “Resigning from my job has actually impacted me financially.”
Zion’s experience reflects that of many workers, especially in the informal sector, who make up the majority of Nigeria’s workers.
Ifunnaya Oyakimo recently closed her gym business, unable to maintain a staff because workers resigned in droves.
“Some of them said they can no longer sustain themselves with the salary, and with the whole thing that is happening, I just had to let it all go, close the gym, sell off the equipment,” she said.
Some employers, like Moses Ogwoke, who is in the printing business, are covering 60% of workers’ transport costs to retain staff and stay operational.
Ogwoke said those costs cut into profits, threatening the sustainability of his business.
“We have jobs that need to be attended to,” he said. “What we decided to do is to support them the little way we can in paying their transportation at least three times a week, while they take care for the remaining two days. But that money needs to come from somewhere, so from the little profit we are making, we are still dipping hands there to be able to run the office.”
The crisis extends beyond individual struggles. There is the risk of further destabilization of the labor market in Nigeria, where the unemployment rate stands at 33%.
Economist Akin Ogunshola outlined the dangers of the resignation trend and suggested possible policy solutions.
“If people are resigning, definitely, they may be tempted to take to crime, they may be tempted to take to corruption, fraud and so many other social vices that will impact negatively on the economy and the society. … What government is to do to help the workforce is to subsidize the cost of transportation,” he said.
Fuel prices soared in Nigeria last year after President Bola Tinubu ended subsidies that had kept prices low for many years.
The government has promised relief, including buses that run on compressed natural gas, but many workers doubt the measures will be sufficient or will be implemented soon.
With no immediate relief, many Nigerians face a tough choice — pay commuting costs or resign their jobs.
