By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Presidential flag bearer of the Labour Party, Peter Obi has said it will take 85years for a PhD holder to save to buy the N160million car that Senators are driving in Nigeria.
In stark contrast, our legislators, whose required educational qualification is merely a secondary school certificate, receive a monthly salary of ₦21 million, which is more than 10 years salary of a PhD holder.
This disparity is the root of the problem. Additionally, legislators are provided with SUVs worth ₦160 million from the public purse. For a PhD holder to afford such a vehicle, it would take over 85 years of saving every kobo earned.
He lamented that while a Grade 2 lecturer might earn just N150,000 per month, an average lawmaker takes home about N21 million monthly, revealing a stark disparity between the government’s prioritization of education and its own extravagant expenses.
“A recent news story attributed to the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC) regarding the decline in the standards of our university education has highlighted the significant challenges facing our education system.
“According to the Executive Secretary, the situation requires the production of more PhD holders to address these issues. However, the Executive Secretary’s solution overlooks several obstacles, such as the unnecessarily prolonged time it takes to obtain a PhD in Nigeria and the frustrating disparity between wages and the level of academic attainment in the country.
“If fortunate, one might be employed as a Lecturer Grade 2 with a monthly salary of around N150,000, often paid irregularly, totaling N1.8 million annually.