negotiation

Most Nigerians never negotiate their salary. They are grateful for the job, they do not want to seem difficult, and they accept the first number.

That silence is expensive, and it compounds. A ₦100,000 monthly increase secured at the start does more than pay ₦1.2 million in year one. It becomes the base for every raise, every bonus, and every offer at the next company, because the next employer will ask what you currently earn. Over a career, one conversation you did not have can cost tens of millions.

The fear is that asking will cost you the offer. It almost never does. A company that has chosen you, gone through interviews and made a decision does not withdraw because you asked politely for more. They may say no. That is not the same as losing the job.

What makes it work is preparation rather than boldness. Know what the role pays elsewhere. Know exactly what you have delivered. Ask once, clearly, and then be quiet. The silence after the ask is where people lose it, by filling the gap and negotiating against themselves.

Ask. The worst outcome is the offer you already had.