Tinubu Aide Bwala: Nigerian earning ₦60,000 at home better off than UK worker on £2,800

Presidential Special Adviser on Policy Communication Daniel Bwala has sparked debate by claiming that a Nigerian earning ₦60,000 at home could in some respects be better off than a counterpart earning £2,800 monthly in the UK, describing the reality facing many Nigerian graduates abroad as “modern-day slavery.”

Daniel Bwala wants Nigerians to think twice before packing their bags — and he came with numbers.

President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Policy Communication made a striking argument during an appearance on the Morayo Afolabi Brown Show on Wednesday, claiming that Nigerians dreaming of a better life in the United Kingdom may be walking into conditions worse than what they left behind.

Breaking down the finances of a typical Nigerian worker in the UK earning between £2,600 and £2,800 monthly, as reported by The Punch, Bwala said expenses rapidly consumed the income. “£2,450 goes off. You pay power, internet, TV, rent. Rent alone is about £800 even if you are living in the outskirts of London,” he said, linking the financial squeeze to reports of Nigerians dying on London streets from overwork and hardship.

Comparing that worker to a Nigerian earning ₦60,000 at home, Bwala argued the domestic worker had access to community financial support and paid almost nothing for social services — advantages the UK-based worker entirely lacked.

“That person is farther than you,” he said of the UK worker. “At least Auntie Abike can loan you money. Uncle Soso can support you.”

On the quality of jobs available to Nigerian graduates abroad, Bwala was scathing, describing care home work as “modern-day slavery.” He recounted a friend’s experience in a UK warehouse where PhD and master’s degree holders worked under a supervisor without a secondary school certificate.

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s modern-day slavery. The type of jobs they get there is less demanding than that of a house girl, even as a master’s degree holder,” he said bluntly.

Bwala made the remarks in response to an audience question about the long queues observed at Lagos visa centres and what the Federal Government was doing to address emigration driven by poverty and unemployment. He pointed to recent healthcare interventions — including a 50 per cent dialysis subsidy and free Caesarean sections in federal hospitals — as evidence of government action to improve conditions at home.