A Hungry man is an angry man, so goes an age-long maxim. But contrary to the saying, Labour Vanguard in this piece, gives insight into how leaders of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and their Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, counterparts, became happy on meeting with the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo.
It is a story of how a protest against perceived bad governance, and worsening hardship, turned into a solidarity visit at the Presidential Villa on February 9. In Lagos and Abuja, aggrieved workers and their society allies, displayed several placards with inscriptions such as “President Buhari let there be light, End jumbo salary for all political office holders, prosecute all indicted persons.
Jail all looters, no sacred cows, President Buhari takes time to review power sector reform, End unpaid salary regime, pay N56,000 minimum wage, Buy made-in-Nigeria Goods and patronize local fabrics, garments.” Leading the protest, leaders of NLC and TUC made it clear that Nigerians were dissatisfied with the style of governance of the present government that had made Nigerians poorer and unable to cope with the hardship.
They demanded that the Federal Government should make known the identities of those that looted the nation’s treasury and asked that their hands be amputated to serve as deterrent.
Current recession
The protesters insisted that the level of hardship in the country had risen to alarming level and that workers were the worst hit by the current recession, demanding upward review of the minimum wage. They also threatened to drag some state governors to the anti-graft agencies for alleged diversion of the bail-out funds recently released by the government for the payment of workers’ salaries, arrears, pensions and gratuity.
In Abuja, NLC president and its TUC counterpart, Ayuba Wabba, and Bobboi Kaigama, respectively, at the Unity Fountain, among others, poured out the frustrations on the socio-economic and political situations in the country. On his own part, the Vice President of Industriall Global Union and General Secretary of National Union of Textiles, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, Issa Aremu, lamented that before the increment of the pump price of petrol, labour had predicted what would be the outcome of the government policy, adding that the predictions had come to pass.
From the unity fountain, the protesters moved to the National Assembly, where they demanded from the leadership of the National Assembly immediate upward review of minimum wage amidst increasing cost of items in the country, lamenting that besides the issue of minimum wage, pensioners in the country were owed up to 77 months. They called on the National Assembly to synergize with other arms of government to pay them. Responding, the Senate President Bukola Saraki, said it was time to go into action towards addressing the numerous challenges confronting Nigerians and that everybody should sit down and work out how to make necessary adjustments.
He said: “It can’t continue this way, the exchange rate is high, cost of things in the market have gone high but only the workers’ salaries remained the same. By the next time we will meet I will tell you what the National Assembly has done to improve the living condition of Nigerians.” Leaving the Assembly complex, the protesters decided to storm the Aso Rock Villa.
But hardly had they got to the thresholds of the Presidential Villa through the Supreme Court route when they met with a horde of security agents preventing them from gaining access to the villa to deliver their protest message to Prof. Osinbajo. For more than an hour, they stood in the scorching sun, waiting and while they were still battling with the security operatives, words reached Osinbajo on the development.
The acting president gave approval for their leaders to be allowed in. Initially the workers rejected the request insisting that the acting president either send a representative to receive their message or be allowed to gain access to the villa to deliver the message. But They later nominated 20 representatives to take their message to the acting president.
But the music changed the moment the leaders met with Osinbajo in his conference room inside the presidential villa. Why the leaders had thrown all types of darts at government at the Unity Fountain, upon meeting face-to-face with the government, they became good allies, chorusing strong support for the government.
Hear TUC President: “It is a fight every Nigerian must be part of. Government at all levels and should abide with rule of law, corruption should not be tolerated. We are here to identify with government in its resolve to fight corruption.” Things took a dramatic turn when the protesters whose hearts were heavy ab initio wore broad smiles and happily posed in a photograph with the acting president after the meeting.
Resolve to fight corruption
Earlier, while receiving the labour leaders, the acting president took time to preach the government’s anti-corruption fight gospel to them. He said: “For a democratically elected government, we must constantly report to the people and we must show that we are accountable to the people. That is why positions like yours have to be received properly and we must find ways to positively take action on the many demands that were raised.
Every time you fight corruption the way we are trying to fight corruption, there is a major fight back, because corruption in this country is wealthy, powerful, influential and it is in every aspect of our lives. It is in practically all institutions including religious institutions. “The social media campaign of bring back corruption is an orchestrated one. Nobody that is suffering can say bring back corruption.
Attempts by those who are being tried for corruption to delay trials is also part of the orchestrated campaign. If we don’t speak up against corrupt officials who make it look as if there is a witch-hunt, then we will not succeed in the fight. Government needs everybody to speak up. We have a serious battle in our hands and if we don’t win that battle, this country will never get to the path of sustainable development.
The major problem that this country has suffered so far is the looting of its resources. We must fight corruption hard. It is a tough one but we must fight it. If we don’t fight corruption, all we are doing is a waste. If a few can pillage the resources of the nation and get away with it, then we will just continue to go around with it.”
Orchestrated campaign
The acting president also underscored the need for prudent management of scarce resources, stressing that everyone must be held accountable. According to him, the government was operating at less than 60% of revenues as at 2015, saying: “Management of resources is critical especially when those resources are as small as what we are witnessing today. We want to ensure that everyone is held to account.
If resources were not efficiently managed, we will not be able to do even the things we are doing now because we are operating at less than 60% of revenues as at 2015, today.” Osinbajo also promised that government would include the labour leaders in the implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) expected to be launched at end of this month.
(Vanguard)
