When we talk about the “Level 9” civil servant in Lagos, we aren’t just talking about an irrelevant person but rather we are talking about the people that are making the operations of Lagos move smoothly.
These are the mid-level professionals occupying and doing their job diligently, and there are the engineers supervising construction sites, the environmental officers monitoring waste, the health technicians in our wards and those beautiful and energetic souls who sweep the expressways while cars speed past to keep Lagos clean.
These professional risk their lives to keep the job done and for Lagos State to pay these workers a minimum wage of 70,000 Naira means they ignore the reality of what it takes to live and work in Nigeria’s most expensive city.
We cannot write off the years of experience or a solid degree of a level 9 civil servant in Lagos state. In any other part of the world, people with such level would be considered the “middle class.”
In today’s Lagos, 70,000 Naira cannot even cover the cost of a decent room and parlor in a safe neighborhood, let alone the “transport fare” needed to get to work every day.
Think about the environmental officer who has to trek into rough environments to ensure our drainage systems aren’t blocked, or the administrative staff who manages hundreds of public records. These people are professionals. When the pay is this low, we are essentially telling them that their education and their years of experience and service do not matter.
The Lagos of today is filled with so many pressure and dangers that could also affect workers mentally and also emotionally, imagine working in such an environment with low payment that can barely sustain an individual.
Many Level 9 workers are out in the field making sure the operations are going on very well, whether it is managing hectic traffic, inspecting old buildings that could collapse at anytime, or cleaning the highways where one wrong move from a driver could lead to tragedy, the threat to life is constant.
The mental threat of trying to survive on 70k in this harsh economy is a huge weight of its own. How does an officer stay honest and resist the temptation of bribery and corruption when they can’t afford a bag of rice for their family?
The economy is harsh, and it isn’t getting any easier. Fuel prices have tripled, food prices are soaring, and the value of the Naira in our pockets seems to shrink every morning.
Our request to the Government
Lagos State is often the leader in Nigeria when it comes to progress. We see the beautiful rail projects and the new bridges, which are all wonderful. But what is a “Center of Excellence” if the people building and maintaining it are hungry?
We are calling on the authorities to:
Reflect the Real Cost of Living: Adjust the Level 9 pay to something that reflects the current price of food, rent, and transport in Lagos.
Harmonize Allowances: Create a Living Allowance that bridges the gap between the basic salary and the reality of the market.
Prioritize Welfare: Improve health insurance and safety benefits so that if a worker is injured on the job, their family isn’t left to suffer.
We cannot expect a 2026 output from workers being paid a 2010-value salary. It is time to treat our civil servants like the essential human beings they are. Let’s make Lagos work for those who work for Lagos.
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