The Vice Chancellor of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Prof. Ozo-Mekuri Ndimele, has expressed dismay over the devalued state of the Nigerian currency and its attendant negative effects on the workers.
Ndimele revealed this during his closing remarks at the niversity’s 24th Inaugural Lecture with the theme: “Between Father, Son and Ghost; Who Is Accentuating the Payment of Wages of Sin To Nigerian Workers’, held at the university’s Main Campus, Rumuolumeni, PortHarcourt, recently.
Ndimele noted with dismay the current state of the Nigerian Naira, averring that its value had negatively affected the purchasing power of the average Nigerian worker, resulting in dissatisfaction and corruption among workers.
Describing the situation as unfortunate, Ndimele said “a time will come when Nigerian Naira will be put inside a basket and put on the road to a farm and somebody will go and pour the Naira away and take away the basket. That is, the basket will have more value than the Nigerian naira. It’s unfortunate.”
The Vice Chancellor who further regretted the present state of the Nigerian nation characterised by kidnappings, killings among other inhumane vices said “the way we are going, Nigeria is breaking up and nobody cares to listen”.
Ndimele therefore called on all hands to be on deck in the quest to return the country to its desired state of labour-friendly and corruption-free State.
Earlier in his lecture, the Inaugural Lecturer,  Prof. Alafuro Epelle attributed the poor wages paid workers to the corruption bedeviling the Nigerian nation and stressed the need for a living wage to avert the situation.
Epelle said: “This poor wage syndrome has helped exacerbate the problem of corruption among workers as some of them, in an attempt to make up for the grossly inadequate monthly pay employ other illegal means to line their pockets”.