NLC: Strike Not About Ajaero But against Official Impunity

The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), yesterday, rejected the ascription of the nationwide strike the congress embarked upon in conjunction with the Trade Union Congress (TUC) as a personal agenda by NLC president, Comrade Joe Ajaero.

On the contrary, NLC said, “the arrest and protective custody” of Ajaero by the Nigeria Police, which led to multiple injuries to his body and psychology, was a state-sponsored act of terror not just against an individual but all freedom-loving Nigerians.

The strike recorded partial compliance in many parts of the country.

Relatedly, a pro-democracy group, United Action Front of Civil Society, condemned what it described as the hostile disposition of the President Bola Tinubu administration to constructive opposition and labour activism since assumption of office.

But former President of NLC, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, charged the leadership of organised labour to prioritise the welfare and rights of Nigerian workers over personal political interests, even as he opposed the idea of strike.

Nonetheless, the indefinite strike, which started yesterday, appear to have taken off on a shaky note.

Most public schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), for instance, as in other parts of the country, observed the strike, as the school authorities turned back students who showed up.

Following a directive from its national headquarters on strict observance of the indefinite strike, state branches of NLC and other affiliates mobilised their members as early as 8am to picket offices of institutions that tried to open for business.

A combined team of NLC and TUC officials picketed the offices of some banks and the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja, even as organised labour also staged a protest at the entrance gate of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) at the early hours of yesterday.

In a statement by its Head of Information and Publicity, Benson Upah, NLC said Nigerians should not succumb to the “private matter” narrative being pushed by the federal government to discredit the ongoing nationwide strike meant to protest acts of impunity and maltreatment of Nigerian workers.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, had accused NLC and TUC of punishing a country of over 200 million people over a personal matter involving the NLC president. Onanuga said Ajaero’s error of judgment had led to the assault on him in Owerri, Imo State, while he was planning to incite the workers in the state into a needless strike.

But the NLC scribe described the government’s position as Freudian slip and sadistic.

Upah stated, “It is in light of this we would want the world to know that Onanuga’ s sadistic comment is a Freudian slip, as this is the way his principals view the Imo State  triple-digit tragedy: the non-payment of workers/pensioners benefits; the choking/stifling environment that leaves workers and citizens gasping for air; the license for impunity that covers murder and attempted murder of dissenting voices, including Comrade Joe Ajaero, which the Nigerian state now passes off as a ‘personal matter.’

“When we first heard through the grapevine that glasses were clinked and pleasantries earthily exchanged by the powers that be following the arrest and torture of Comrade Joe Ajaero, we thought it was one of those rumours but with this confirmation from Bayo Onanuga, we now know better!”

Upah said Nigerians should not succumb to the “private matter” narrative, recalling the famous poem: “When they came for the Jews, I said I was not a Jew; When they came for the teachers, I said I was not a teacher….By  the time they came for me there was no one left to shout.”

Upah said the arrest and “protective custody” of Ajaero by the Nigeria Police, which led to multiple injuries to his person, was a state-sponsored act of terror not just against him but also against all freedom-loving Nigerians.

He said the government was merely testing the waters, adding that no one knows who the next target would be.

“Take heed and open your eyes and note that this systematic assault on the citizenry is being co-ordinated by a tiny clique within the government on all fronts: economic, political and social. It is total violence!” Upah said.

On the contention by Onanuga that the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, had ordered an investigation into the Owerri incident, Upah said the federal government had already pre-empted its outcome by accusing Ajaero of inciting workers against the Imo State government.

According to him, “So the police will now be the judge, jury and jailer in their own case? What a country we run! Secondly, what  per chance, will the police be investigating, when  the government, by the admission of Onanuga,  has already found  Ajaero guilty, arrested him, convicted him, punished him through  torture for ‘planning to incite the workers in Imo State into a needless strike.’

“We concerned Nigerians are not interested in a charade. We demand an honest and thorough investigation by competent and independent professionals (with free and unfettered access to information, people and materials) from within and outside the country. Ajaero holds offices on the international circuit.”

Similarly, United Action Front of Civil Society, in a statement by its Head of National Coordinating Secretariat, Olawale Okunniyi, said it was becoming crystal clear by the day that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government “is out to criminalise civil opposition and labour activism in a desperate attempt to cripple vibrant platforms of the Nigerian polity in furtherance of its dubious agenda of neo-colonialist policies fraught with profligacy and corruption with attendant negative consequences manifesting in excruciating multi-dimensional poverty as well as codified hardship on the masses.”

Okuniyi said the federal government had so far remained evasive and appeared not committed to fulfilling the agreement it reached with labour over removal of fuel subsidy.

He stated, “We are concerned that rather than fulfil the agreement with labour and bring succour to the downtrodden working masses of Nigeria, it is unfortunate that government is embarking on smear campaigns, criminalisation and targeted attacks and brutality of labour and opposition leaders.

“The manipulative use of court orders by government to frustrate and truncate the legitimate rights and demand of workers and masses by the present administration is another condemnable and irresponsible trend to be employed by a supposed democratic government.”

But Oshiomhole, who spoke to newsmen after meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima at State House, Abuja, expressed his reservation about the ill-treatment of workers at any level, citing his affinity with the labour movement, as NLC’s former president.

While expressing his continued commitment to the cause of labour, Oshiomhole, however, disapproved of the ongoing strike, saying it does not adequately address the crucial issues facing workers. He urged NLC and TUC to prioritise engaging state governments not implementing the agreed wages for workers in their respective states.

The former governor of Edo State said, “Labour cannot be apolitical because politics is about the people. And I have argued, when I was in NLC, that nobody has a right to be partisan much more than those who turn the wheel of our industrial progress.

“But in saying that, we must recognise that however hard you try, when it comes to politics, people are going to have different reasons for supporting different candidates.

“You have to be careful not to be seen to be doing the bidding of a particular candidate or a particular political party. As President of the NLC, I made no friend with any politician in Edo State.

“So Ogbemudia once asked me, ‘we want to be able to say leave the matter to me, he’s my boy, I will call him.’ I am not anybody’s boy. I want to make my decisions. I take responsibility for those decisions. You can’t find me in the house of a politician. Not because I hate them. Because they represent the value that I represent.

“I represent those guys who can only vote. Even though the law allowed that to be voted for, unfortunately, the system hardly throws them up. So, I have to prioritise what is it that I’m ready to die for? And what is it that I’m ready to accommodate.”

Urging NLC to prioritise holding state governments accountable to the N30,000 minimum wage agreement, which also covers local government and state workers, Oshiomhole queried why NLC was not mobilising strikes against states still failing to implement the approved minimum wage instead of targeting the federal government.

Nevertheless, the strike recorded partial compliance in many places.