As Labour Unions Speak Truth To Power

 By Ayo Oyoze Baje

 “Truth crushed to earth shall rise again;/ The eternal years of God are hers./ But error, wounded, writhes with pain./ And dies amongst his worshippers” – Willian Cullen Bryant (1794-1878) 

From the historical perspective, and going by the dictates of democracy, as expressly stated by the Greek tribes that had founded the city-states, after doing away with monarchy by 700 BC, where one person ruled and subsequently aristocracy at about 500BC, it is a “government of the people, by the people and for the people”. Democratic governance is therefore, meant to serve the overall interests of the vast majority of the people and not the favoured few as it had played out with aristocracy. 

But pitched against the current democratic variant, as has been practised in an unbroken form in Nigeria, over the past 25 years, since 1999 the leadership spectrum is overtly skewed in favour of the set of self-serving, flamboyantly rich and serially-recycled politicians whose stock-in-trade is personalizing power. At the receiving end are the long-marginalized people, in a king-slave matrix that breeds hatred from both sides of the great socio-economic divide.

Indeed, the huge pay packages of Nigeria’s current ruling class and disconnect from the mass misery reminds us, not about what the ethics of democratic governance entails but a rehash of aristocracy. Some groups of concerned citizens have therefore, taken up the noble and patriotic challenge of bridging the ever- widening gap between the few members of the political elite and the long-suffering masses. There comes in the significant duties, buoyed by the rights and responsibilities, of the labour unions -including the Comrade Joe Ajaero-led Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and Comrade Festus Osifo- headed Trade Union Congress, TUC.

Unfortunately, the gross misconception, amongst the political helsmen is that by their words and actions; especially spearheading peaceful protests in the quest for the workers’ pain-relieving welfare, they are being used to distabilize the same democratic dispensation. That is, the democracy which the likes of Chief Moshood Abiola (of blessed memory) and of course, incumbent President Ahmed Tinubu rigorously fought for.

No! Such a parochial periscoping of the role of the labour unions should be done away with, for more reasons than one. Lest we forget, the increase in the emoluments of Nigerian workers, which the unions are clamouring for is quite in tandem with the economic hardship on ground, bedevilled by the country’s highest ever inflation rate of 33.69% as at April,2024. That was up from 33.20% in March, 2024. The scary figures were made available by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS.

We should be reminded that Article 22 of the United Nations Organization, UNO’s Information Sheet clearly guarantees the right of everyone to form or join trade unions of his choice, subject only to the rules of the organization. Furthermore, the NLRA allows employers and unions to enter into security agreement, requiring all employees in a bargaining unit to become union members. With regards to Nigeria, the Trade Union Act ( TUA) enacted in 1973 recognizes the unions as representing their members, once they are registered. 

And in terms of International law, the right to freedom of association, peaceful assembly and expression are duly recognized by different treaties, including the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The recent struggle by the labour unions to get a minimum wage that would “allow the poor Nigerians to breathe” should therefore, not be misconceived as any form of power-play between the government and the unionists.

Going by the empirical evidences available on the state of the economy, it would have been a disservice to the workers, if their leaders had kept mute, sitting on the fence or stayed aloof. For instance, Nigeria was ranked as 109 out of 125 countries on the Global Hunger Index, GHI below Sudan, Zimbabwe, DR Congo, North Korea and Guinea as at late 2023. And currently about 26.5 million citizens are victims of harrowing hunger; a figure considered an increase of 18.6% from what transpired between 2020-2022. As food inflation has skyrocketed by an astronomical 40.53% from April 2023 to April 2024, the workers, as the breadwinners who feel the pinch most cannot but raise their voices louder, even in peaceful protests.

 In fact, some concerned citizens are asking the pertinent questions of the root causes of the war-like economic situation, that we are currently battling with. That is coming amidst the unimpactful palliative measures so far given by the government. The burning issue is how do we fashion out the best way forward? Castigating the efforts of the labour unions at seeking sustainable remedies to the self-inflicted menace is like leaving the substance of good governance- which the long-suffering citizens rightly deserve- to chasing the shadows of the blame- game. That in retrospect, brings to mind the heady days of the civil rights movement, led by Martin Luther King Jnr. in the United States back in the ’50s and ’60s.

According to the author, Lewis Baldwin, despite being labeled as a ” notorious liar”, a “law breaker”, a ” trouble maker” and an “, extremist ” King stood stoutly on the side of Truth. That was similar to what the likes of Mohandas Gandhi, Abraham Heschel, Mother Teresa and Thomas Merton, as pantheons of great thinkers and activists had done. At the end of their pro-people struggles, victory was won, even if the supreme sacrifice was paid by some of them. But we do not want a re-play of such mind-bending, horrendous tragedies here in Nigeria, more so under a democratic dispensation? The answer is a vehement, “no”! 

So good enough that President Tinubu, during his speech on Democracy Day mentioned his government ‘s stance on defending democratic principles. That of course includes having peaceful negotiations with the labour unions during the meetings held so far. No one was arrested for expressing his views, despite the controversial, though short-term presence of some members of the armed forces during one of the negotiations.

More by actions than by wishful words, peaceful negotiations will be the best way forward. In that regard, and with the assurance given by President Tinubu to reach a sustainable point on the minimum wage, with the lawmakers, one would urge members of the labour unions to shift their stand on not taking less than two hundred and fifty fifty naira (N250,000). 

That, according to the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris could trigger widespread job losses. A more holistic view on the broader economic implications is needed. That should be food-for-thought for us all, while urging the government to take a more cautious approach before coming up with anti-people economic policies. Focus should be shifted to creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive, instead of throwing money at man-made problems.

Again, yours truly reiterates that more than ever before, now is the best of times for our politicians in power to make the sacrifice to stabilize the economy. Bitter as the truth might sound, it reminds us again of Luther King Jnr re-echoing the words of Bryant that: “Truth, crushed to earth shall rise again because the eternal years of God are hers.” 

*Baje is a commentator on public issues