Ahead of the planned nationwide protest by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over high cost of living, a Coalition of Civil Society Groups on Transparency and Accountability has warned of possibility of it being hijacked by anti-democratic elements.
The groups, Empowerment for Unemployed Youth Initiative, Guardians of Democracy and Development Initiative and Rising up for a United Nigeria expressed the fear that labour may just be inadvertently playing into a bigger destabilization plot to throw the country into chaos.
At a joint press conference in Abuja, addressed by the trio of Comr. Igwe Ude-umanta, Comr. Danesi Momoh and Amb. Solomon Adodo called on the NLC to have a rethink on its decision to embark on the strike action and engage the Federal Government through other means.
The group noted that it is every crucial for the NLC to reassess the situation with stoicism and circumspection.
“The problem is about the timing and the reasons. In a country where people are beginning to hijack vehicles conveying food items and looting them; where some distressed citizens are seeking the slightest opportunity to vent both their real and imagined frustration on society, how did the NLC arrive at holding national protests as the best available solution to addressing their issues?,” the group queried.
“The security optics for a national protest by an organization as large and strategic as the NLC is not looking good at all. This is a possible recipe for a national chaos. It must be avoided. We read the statement by the President of NLC, Comrade Joe Ajaero, in which he was confident of a peaceful outcome of the protests, because according to him, the NLC is patriotic and have always been peaceful.
“Yes, Mr. Comrade President, we do not argue with you to the contrary. The only factor you did not include in your analysis is that there is an evident palpable tension in which such a protest could inflame. We speak as members of the Civil Society with long history and experience in organizing protests.
“And we can tell out of experience, the conditions precedent to protests being hijacked or spiraling out of control. Those conditions which are political and socioeconomic are present in abundance across the country.”
The group urged the organised labour to exercise restraint over the planned action and give President Bola Ahmed Tinubu himself the chance to address the teething challenges faced by Nigerians.
The added: “Yes, we may be interrogating the solutions being offered, but again, is it by protests?Concerning the entire agreement reached, we believe that its implementation should be fast tracked.
“However, it has to be recognized that a number of those agreements are being addressed. What is expected is for the Organized Labour to interface with government to straighten things up. But protests in a time that the reforms of the Federal Government is discharging its harshest venoms should be completely off the table.
“More will certainly be achieved through strategic engagement rather than protests.On the other part, it is also important to advice the NLC to avoid playing to the gallery. It is obvious that this particular NLC believe that it can achieve everything alone. And that is why it may not achieve much. In the past, the Organized Labour built strong partnerships with the Civil Society and other Pressure Groups.
“That is where its programmes are interrogated, fine-tuned and redirected to achieve the best outcomes. But it is now certain that Comrade Ajaero leadership style does not believe in collaboration and partnerships. He does not like his programmes and strategies to be reviewed, analyzed or interrogated.
“From the records, even the closest natural ally and partner of the NLC which is the TUC have pulled out of the planned protests due to lack of consultation and unilateralism. And this is the third time under Ajaero that he is having a major disagreement with the TUC due to his inability to engage properly before taking rash measures. It is important that this is placed on record, because questions are also being asked in some quarters as to whether this protests are really for the members of the NLC or there are other motives.
“And such suspicion is valid because of the manner the leadership of Labour rushed its decisions.Therefore, if the leadership of Labour claims that it loves Nigeria so much, it should beyond every other consideration put National Security Considerations as the first in its agenda. It cannot claim that it does not know that there is a socioeconomic crisis in the country, in which government has assured that it is temporary. So why must it be at this tensed time that the NLC must insist on a unilateral protest?
“A Labour Union for all intents and purposes must not behave like an opposition party. Agreements were reached between the Federal Government and the Organized Labour in October, 2023. As at February, a number of the issues are being addressed including the inauguration of a Tripartite Committee to discuss a new Minimum Wage, as well as a considerable effort in clearing the arrears of the wage award given to workers in that agreement. Labour is right to ask that things should move faster.
“But for the sake of patriotism, it is better that it engages with government on how to hasten up the process than embarking on an inauspicious protests that have all the trappings of a chaotic ending.
“Let us also use this opportunity to call on government to engage the Organized Labour to smoothen all rough edges and crooked ends in the implementation of the agreement under review. But we must reiterate that while we await such engagement, the NLC should as a matter of national security consideration abort the planned protests.”
