A N20,000 job opening for a barber in Ikoyi, Lagos State, has astonished Nigerians, leading to a wave of criticism.
Announced on X on Wednesday by Fairy Gbemie, the job requires the worker to work till 9 p.m., Monday to Saturday.
“My cousin just opened a barbershop in Ikoyi, Lagos. We need a barber that can work from Monday to Saturday; the closing time is 9 p.m. Payment is 20,000 Naira. Apply within,” the announcement reads.
Responding to the job vacancy announcement, Nigerians noted that N20,000 is too little to make ends meet amid the rising cost of commodities in Nigeria today.
TimmyNaija, a barber in Lagos, noted that “my monthly salary as a barber is N20,000? In Ikoyi, for that matter. Even in Ikorodu, barbers earn well over N70k monthly.”
Davide Oghe urged the announcer to work in the barbershop because of the low salary.
“Monday to Saturday, closing hour: 9 p.m. for N20,000? Tell your brother to stay in his shop and do the barbing himself or you join him; in 1 month time, you should be able to barb,” he said.
While Comrade Olajide Ikunjenyo called the owners of the undisclosed barber shop “evil,” Hesed Sign, an X user, accused them of modern-day slavery.
She wrote, “You should have just said you’re looking for a time-based slave that’ll work Mondays to Saturdays and close by 9 p.m. In this economy? In Ikoyi? N20,000. If the person wants to buy water to drink, it’ll be from the N20,000, right?”
Ekperah Chinedu also noted that the N20,000 salary for a barber is slavery when he said, “Tell your cousin to increase the salary. It’s slavery for someone to work from Monday to Saturday until 9 p.m. each day, and at the end of every month, he or she goes home with $20,000 It doesn’t make sense.”
Amid the backlash, Ahmed Saleem urged them not to “put them on salary if you want to achieve smooth running of the saloon.”
Rather, he advised, “Simply give them a predetermined percentage from each customer. They will certainly bring in more customers. Some of them may make up to N100,000 a month with this method and tips from customers.”
