A former chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in South Africa, Bola Babarinde, says Nigeria can pay as much as minimum wage if the country eliminates wastages and corruption in governance.

Mr Babarinde, the deputy director of Sanwo-Olu/Hamzat Campaign Council, Diaspora Directorate, said any meaningful minimum wage could be up to N200,000 due to economic realities.

He made the assertions in a statement on Tuesday in reaction to President Bola Tinubu’s New Year’s Day broadcast on Monday.

Mr Tinubu had said his government would implement a new national living wage in 2024.

The president said the decision made good economic sense and was morally and politically right.

Mr Babarinde said a living wage would encourage workers to put in their best effort and reduce stealing and other misconduct in public service.

“A living wage should reflect intention to improve the welfare of the Nigerian working class,” he said.

He said Mr Tinubu came into power with measures to reposition the economy and give succour to Nigerians. However, Mr Babarinde noted that ordinary Nigerians were suffering because “building can be more difficult to achieve than destroying.”

“We should not expect a system that had been damaged for decades to be repaired and turned around in a jiffy. Sustainable development takes time,” Mr Babarinde said.

On Tinubu’s travels to attract investments, the APC chieftain said it was well-intended but advised the federal government to look inwards.

“This is the time to ask our universities, colleges of technology and technical schools to give us the Nigeria of our dream by helping with ideas on refining homegrown technologies for industrial and economic self-reliance.

“We must be serious about ease of doing business among our African countries and reduce obstacles in communication and transportation within our countries. Reduction of airfare and cost of telecommunications between ECOWAS nations should boost local trade, which will definitely help economies of those nations,” he said.

Mr Babarinde advised Nigerian leaders to make sacrifices for the nation, saying that financial recklessness must be avoided through fiscal discipline.

He urged Mr Tinubu to leverage the network, experience, and expertise of Nigerians in the Diaspora to actualise the renewed hope agenda of his administration.

(NAN)