Professor Joy Ezeilo, a Law Professor at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, expressed her dismay at the decline in the purchasing power of her salary, exacerbated by inflation. She revealed that it now takes up to one-fifth of her salary to purchase water for her compound on a monthly basis.

Ezeilo revealed this on her X handle on Saturday, adding that the N1m proposed minimum wage by the Nigeria Labour Congress “is not a laughing matter to be dismissed by wave of hand.”

She wrote, “The fast depreciating purchasing power of my hard-earned salary, the devalued Naira, and the creeping inflation: I just discovered by purchasing water today that my monthly salary can only pay for a limited quantity of water supply.

“I spent N40,000 for a water tanker one trip load (about 2,800 gallons) this evening in Enugu.

“Talk about price fixing. We bought previously the first week of February for N35,000. Of course, the driver said the cost of diesel drives the price. The ultimate buyer bears the brunt.

“We need at least two tankers for one month at N80,000, which would have taken one-fifth of my professorial cadre salary in a federal university.

“At this rate, just water without food, electricity, transportation, generator fueling, house rent, school fees, health care, etc., one can see that the N1m being proposed as minimum wage by the Labour Union is not a laughing matter to be dismissed by wave of hand.

“Which way, Nigeria? I can only hum Sonny Okosun’s (1984 – Which Way Nigeria) and Majek Fashek’s (Send Down the Rain!) songs as I silently pray for reprieve and an urgent economic solution so Nigerians can breathe well.”

PUNCH Online had reported on February 10 that Ezeilo lamented how she would need to save five months of her salary as a Professor of Law on the last professional step to buy a return ticket to a West African country.

She stated this while expressing her dream of watching the final of the African Cup of Nations live in Cote D’Ivoire but was shocked after her travel agent of over 20 years told her the price of the ticket was estimated at over N2.1m.