Di invisible workforce: ₦2.3 trillion and zero contract
Nigeria domestic service sector dey employ around 7-10 million worker — but almost none get written contract, health insurance, or pension. For Lagos, where 60%+ of middle-class household employ at least one domestic worker, di whole sector dey run on verbal agreement and trust. Our guide dey bring transparency: how much you suppose pay nanny for Lekki vs Yaba? Live-in gateman cheaper pass security company? When driver break even vs Bolt?
Di Island-Mainland salary gap for domestic worker follow same gap for everything else for Lagos — 40-60% premium for same work for Island. Nanny for Alimosho earn ₦40,000-₦70,000. Same role for Lekki dey command ₦80,000-₦200,000. Island household expect English fluency, school run for traffic, and social polish of estate living.
Di biggest hidden cost na live-in staff accommodation. Gateman wey earn ₦40,000/month cash dey receive room (worth ₦15,000-₦30,000), meals (₦30,000-₦60,000), and utilities. Di true cost na ₦85,000-₦130,000/month — double di headline salary.
Domestic and skilled household service dey woven into everyday Lagos life to a degree wey dey surprise newcomer. Because plenty of how you dey run home here na manual — no reliable grid, patchy water, heavy traffic, big family and compound — whole economy of help dey exist to fill the gap: nanny and house-help, cook, driver, gardener, security guard, cleaner, and the tradesperson wey every household need on call, from generator mechanic to plumber and electrician. For large slice of middle- and upper-income Lagos, this help no be luxury but the infrastructure wey dey make working household function.
The arrangement dey come for few standard shape, and dem dey drive the cost. Live-in staff (common for nanny, house-help and some cook) na monthly salary dem dey pay and dem dey house and feed am; live-out or 'day' staff dey come in on set days or hours; and many trade dey work per-job or on retainer. Pay dey vary well by role, experience, live-in versus live-out, and the neighbourhood, and dem dey quote am monthly for household staff and per-job or per-visit for tradesperson. Beyond the headline salary, the real budget dey include feeding, transport allowance, and often thirteenth-month or festive bonus wey dem dey effectively expect.
How you find people matter as much as wetin you pay. The trusted route for Lagos na referral — relative, neighbour or estate wey don use somebody reliably — because trust and honesty, especially for staff wey dey live for your house or mind your pikin, count for far more than the lowest rate. Agency dey exist and dem dey add layer of vetting and replacement for a fee, wey worth am for some role; informal network cheaper but e dey put the checking on you. For anybody wey dey hire, reference, clear written arrangement, and where relevant proper background check na the sensible minimum.
The practical wisdom, across every role, na to be clear and fair from the start. Agree the salary, the days and hours, the duties, the feeding and transport, and the notice period explicitly, so nobody dey guess; treat good, reliable staff well, because for city where trust na the scarce commodity, dependable long-term helper dey genuinely hard to replace. Whether you need full-time live-in help or occasional tradesperson, the Lagos services market deep and affordable by global standard — the skill na to hire on trust, price fairly, and build the kind of relationship wey go last.
E worth to stress how much the market dey reward to be good employer. Reliable domestic staff dey genuinely high in demand across Lagos, so the household wey dey keep the best people na the one wey dey pay fairly and on time, provide decent condition, and treat the relationship as long-term instead of transactional. Poaching common, turnover costly, and to start over mean to re-establish trust from scratch — so once you find somebody dependable, to keep am well no be just decent but sensible.