Employed but Broke: Where Did Nigeria’s Middle Class Go? Sunmonu, Sule-Kano, Alaje to Answer at Boiling Point Arena

Nigeria has just marked another Independence anniversary, and a hard question now hangs over the celebration: what does independence mean to a worker who cannot afford the life the salary was meant to buy?

ValidViewNetwork reports that the question will take centre stage on Sunday, October 11, 2026.

That day, the monthly interview discourse Boiling Point Arena holds its 48th edition as an Independence Special for Nigerian workers.

THE QUESTION THAT WILL NOT GO AWAY

The theme is blunt: “Where Did the Middle Class Go? How Are Nigerians Surviving the Cost-of-Living Crisis and What Can Government Do to Ease Hardship/Pain?”

The discourse will run on Zoom for two hours from 8:00 p.m. It will also air live on seven partner radio stations across Lagos, Ogun and Delta States.

Veteran journalist and communication strategy expert Ayo Arowojolu hosts the programme.

Boiling Point Arena is a monthly current affairs show that debuted four years ago.

LABOUR, POLITICS AND ECONOMICS AT ONE TABLE

Three discussants will bring different lenses to the problem:

— Comrade Hassan Sunmonu, a pioneer former President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and now an elder statesman, speaks for the labour movement.

— Prof Dan Sule-Kano, Professor of Political Science at Bayero University, Kano, brings the political lens.

— Dr Paul Alaje, a prominent economist and financial analyst, brings the economic lens.

The Olowu of Owu Kingdom, Oba Prof Saka Matemilola, will chair the session and deliver a keynote address.

WHEN PAYDAY ENDS BEFORE THE MONTH DOES

For generations, a regular job promised a decent home, adequate food, school fees, transport, healthcare, modest savings and a plan for the future.

That promise is under strain. Consider the familiar scene. The salary alert arrives, and within days it has gone. Food competes with rent. Rent competes with school fees. Transport competes with electricity bills. Healthcare competes with everything else.

Savings, once a mark of responsible planning, is fast becoming a luxury.

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The organisers frame the central puzzle plainly. Is the Nigerian middle class disappearing, shrinking, or simply being pushed into a new category of economic survival?

INCOME IS NOT PURCHASING POWER

A worker can be employed and still poor. A professional can draw a respectable salary and still struggle. A small business owner can be busy without becoming more secure.

The distinction matters.

The true measure of wellbeing may not be what Nigerians earn but what their earnings can buy. The edition will ask whether reforms and economic growth are reaching the people who form the backbone of the economy. It will also ask how long families can absorb shocks through sacrifice and borrowing, and how long they can postpone healthcare, housing improvements, education plans and savings.

WHAT CAN GOVERNMENT DO?

The discourse will not stop at diagnosis. A major part of the Independence Special is a search for practical answers on how government can ease the pain.

The timing is deliberate.

The edition comes shortly after the October 1 anniversary, to examine economic independence through the eyes of the ordinary worker.

WHERE TO LISTEN

Listeners can tune in on:

— WASH 94.9FM, Lagos

— Sweet 107.1FM, Abeokuta

— Roots 97.1FM, Abeokuta

— Erimbe 94.7FM, Shagamu

— Women Radio 91.7FM, Mowe

— Opera Tune 106.3FM, Abeokuta

— Kruzz 92.9FM, Asaba, Delta State

— NSTV, a GOtv channel, will also carry the programme.

After decades of nationhood, the measure of independence may be simpler than any speech. Can a Nigerian worker earn a living and still afford to live?

The 48th Boiling Point Arena promises to put that question to those best placed to answer it.