Labour Aristocracy–a Northern Nigerian Case Study

Abstract

The term ‘labour aristocracy’ first appeared in the literature on African economic development in 1968,1 although African wage labour had previously been described as a privileged elite on many occasions. I wish to question the accuracy and relevance of the type of calculation upon which these descriptions are based, and to present the situation which prevails today in Northern Nigeria, using detailed survey data on the earnings of rural farmers, urban workers, and those employed in small-scale enterprises.