Workers for Liberty International (WLI) has recently observed the activities of some amorphous groups and individuals that have sprang up with the intentions of creating divisions within the working class in Nigeria with the ultimate motive of weakening workers’ new found resolve under the vibrant leadership of comrade Joe Ajaero of the NLC. The intention is to then stifle and muzzle the various platforms of workers as a credible voices for the working class and the oppressed masses of the country.
We know those who are behind them and those who are their major sponsors whose interests are diametrically opposed to the interests and well being of Nigerians. Their motives are not hidden especially to the discerning mind but for those who may not have the time to have studied these groups and individuals, they may easily be misled. It is because of these patriots that we decided to clear the air so that the hidden agenda of these unpatriotic individuals will not be achieved.
Recently, they have sought to deploy the use of ethnic and other primordial pleadings to divide Nigerian workers and the trade unions but that failed woefully but like Satan, they have remained persistent believing that the longer they continue in pushing their devilish agenda, the greater chance they have in gaining traction. Their latest gambit is to seek to isolate and demonise the new leadership of the NLC in order to cow and subjugate the persons of these individuals and instill fear in them pursuant to dissuading them from taking the trajectory of liberating Nigerians and Nigerian workers from the clutches of the wickedness that has taken hold of our socio-political framework.
We at WLI will not keep quiet and allow the light and new hope which the new leadership of the NLC represents to be extinguished or dampened by any group. We are committed to interrogating them to ensure that all structures that speak for Nigerian workers including the NLC and TUC are defended and protected from the fangs of those who strut around our various corridors of Power. Any falsehood that threatens the freedom which we are beginning to taste will be exposed for what it is. Our promise is that we shall not relent.
If these purveyors of lies and peddlers of falsehood are not ignorant, they would have known quickly that the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and indeed the Trade Union Congress and other Unions are not run by one person but by strong Organs who come together regularly to take decisions concerning issues that pertain to the well being of Nigerians and Nigerian workers. No one man or woman can therefore take decisions on behalf of the Congresses. That is why it is laughable for anybody to think that either the President of NLC or TUC would decide on the path Nigerian workers will toe at every given point in time. The trade union movement is a collective organism and very difficult for individuals to act with impunity unlike what happens in other platforms and organisations.
Trade Unions we know are democratic thus recognises the supremacy of its Organs at all times. Their operations are all inclusive and decisions are by the collective which understandably may be strange to these group pf people who are lickspittle and clowns of their paymasters. We may give them some example so that next time, they will direct their puny attacks more intelligently.
The wonderful and timely intervention of the NLC and TUC in the CBN induced Cash crunch which eventually led to freeing Nigerians from that crisis was a product of the decisions of the NAC, CWC and NEC of both Labour Centres. Nigerians are still appreciative of that great intervention and are demanding for more interventions in other areas.
The decision to engage the Government of Imo state as we found out over its persistent use of violence as a tool for resolving industrial relations issues in the state and the defilement of workers May Day celebration by using thugs who unleashed violence was also a product of an emergency Joint CWC meeting of both the NLC and TUC that had the President of TUC, comrade Festus Osifo presiding. As we read in the Dailies, that action has successfully been concluded and sanity and reasonable dialogue restored in Imo state.
It should be noted that Imo State is the home state of the NLC president. Airpeace as a business entity that showed gross insensitivity to the plight of Imo workers by its failed attempt at sabotaging the strike called to liberate the workers of Imo state is owned by an Igbo man the same nationality with the President of the NLC. He was never bothered about the primordial affinity with Imo or Airpeace to join others in taking the right and appropriate actions against them but was driven by the passion to save Nigerian workers who are in the grips of powerful forces of impoverishment and emasculation.
To us that action endeared him to our organisation and its membership as it once again shows that there is a new leadership in town with uncommon vision towards the liberation of Nigerian workers and peoples no matter whose ox is gored. We applauded the NLC and TUC leadership for that decision and we continue to look forward with hope that our collective pursuit of a better Nigeria will receive renewed vigour.
It should be known that the trade union movement is blind to ethnicity and this is historical. They were the only credible platform that stood against the fratricidal civil war against all other voices of war and violence and they still stand by that. Trade unions are blind and will continue to be inured as much as possible to its pleadings and preachment no matter how appealing such contradictions may be. That explains why the Unions can elect anybody no matter his tribe or religion to positions of leadership provided he or she has the right qualities to lead. As we already know, that has always and will always be their guiding principles and no gang up will make them change that or reduce themselves to the same practices that have kept our nation marooned in the cesspit of backwardness all these past years.
It is however important that we state unequivocally that we know those who are worried as a result of the reawakening and the now rising profile and increasing reconnecting of the NLC and the Civil Society with the people of Nigeria. We know why they are panicking and we know what they are capable of doing. We know that all the resources of the nation they have stolen all these years will be deployed in their defence and we know that they will fight from all corners to seek to defeat and keep our voices down.
WLI’s resolve to make our nation better by making the trade union movement stronger was not taken without due understanding of its implications. We knew that those who have benefited and are still benefiting from the evil system that has kept our nation down and our people in slavishness will not fold their hands and watch their corrupt ways dethroned by a renascent and resurgent NLC and TUC. We know that they will fight dirty as they promised themselves in their political campaigns but one thing is clear, we are united and we are prepared. We will support the NLC/TUC and their leadership in their quest to make Nigeria better by making sure that the rights and privileges of workers are protected.
We never believed that it would be a smooth journey to freedom for Nigerians neither did we deceive ourselves that it was going to be an easy walk to liberty. Those that are therefore sponsoring these media campaigns against the NLC and its leadership are just testing the waters and we realise that very soon, they will unleash larger vitriolic attacks laced with falsehood against Nigerian workers and the trade unions. The WLI will be waiting for them as we stand as Vanguards in support of the trade union movement. We urge the leadership of both the NLC and TUC to stand firm and not be dissuaded. They are doing the right thing and that is why the peddlers of false narratives are at work.
Firtunately, their antics exposes them and demonstrates to every Nigerian who they are and who their paymasters are. They are clearly those who are enjoying the cheating, alienation and suffering of the Nigerian masses and workers and are afraid of what the new resolve in NLC and TUC are capable of doing. They are essentially those who benefit from the poor wages and unpaid salaries that confront Nigerian workers everyday and are deeply worried about what the new leadership portends and they are those who continue to benefit from the crass governance that disguises as leadership in our nation and those that benefit from the impunity that goes on as elections in Nigeria every election cycle and are clearly afraid of what can become of their meal tickets if Nigerians are liberated. They are those that support the brazen judgments that spew from the Judiciary and the mockery and ridicule our politicians have made and continued to make of our hallowed Judiciary.
We want to tell them that no amount of blackmail will stop the trade Unions with our support or make them lose focus. This is early days and we are ready for a marathon until Nigerian workers and peoples are liberated. Our eyes remains on the ball and those who are panicking should do so more because we are committed to supporting the leaders of the NLC and TUC in discharging their duties to Nigerian workers and masses. We are prepared to pay the ultimate price to ensure the freedom of Nigerians from the shackles of unpatriotic individuals whose interests are to keep us in wanton deprivation so that their pot of soups will continue to be filled with fats.
We followed with keen interest recent speeches of the NLC and TUC but we are sure that these purveyors of evil did not. If they had, they would have smelt the coffee because they had alerted Nigerian workers and masses of these insidious attempts and had asked all of us to gird our loins. We have girded these loins and are prepared to save our nation once and for all. It is either those who are bent on taking us to Golgotha repents and turn a new leaf or they should be prepared to face patriotic Nigerians from all over the nation. They should stop hiding behind the skirt of these amorphous groups and quislings but should come out in the open.
If therefore you are an employer be it private or public that enjoys inflicting pains on your workers, you should be worried because we will support the NLC and TUC to come after you. If you are Public officer that enjoys making laws or enacting policies that inflict suffering and causes humongous deprivations of the populace, you should be worried because we will support the NLC and TUC to resist it. If you are planning to continue on the path of increasing poverty and misery in Nigeria, we will say no so, you should be worried! If you enjoyed the looting and corruption that went with governance in Nigeria, you should be worried because we will look for ways to stop it in conjunction with the trade union movement.
Once again, the WLI call on the Judiciary not to allow itself to be cowed by those who have denigrated and intimidated them to further hold them in contempt as the election tribunal begins to sit. They must see in the various adjudicatory processes a serious opportunity for self redemption. It is crucial that after their rulings, no politician will ever dare to tell its opponents to “GO TO COURT” again. The dignity of this nation and indeed that of the Judiciary should not be compromised at the altar of any other consideration. Our support is to the NLC and TUC to ensure that they continue to put pressure on the Judiciary to act more transparently and save our nation.
We cannot find any truth in the assertion that the NLC wants to stop the inauguration of anybody or the enthroning of a particular individual but we see that they are insistent on allowing the prevalence of transparency and honesty in the rulings of the various election tribunals. If their call for justice through the Judiciary is perceived badly by any group, that is unfortunate and will not deter Nigerian workers from insisting that our institutions of governance are protected. It is our collective responsibility to save our nation from impunity especially the type that took place in the last election. Any body that thinks otherwise is unpatriotic and a true enemy of Nigeria.
Those who have stolen our resources and corrupted our processes must not be allowed to get away with it. We are committed to ensuring that there is consequence for every evil done against workers and our nation and we are determined to ensure that our workplaces become havens for comfort that would drive national development. It is our responsibility. It is our civic duty and we urge the NLC and TUC not to allow any manner of name calling or the same pleadings that was used during the elections particularly iu certain sections to make them shirk their responsibilities to Nigerian workers. We support you and assure you that we are together and this cannot be broken!
Nobody should therefore be deceived about those who are scared of Joe Ajaero especially his commitment to justice, equity and fair play not just for Nigerian workers but also the masses. The enemies of Nigeria, its workers and people especially those who belong to the groups below are those deeply afraid of him:
those who entered political offices through the backdoor
those who have refused to pay Workers salaries and treat Pensioners as subhuman
those who exploit workers in their various workplaces
those who have made sane and reasonable conversations in their state impossible
those who deploy violence to intimidate and harass both workers and citizens in their state
those Who have decimated Imo youths and are now using Arewa youths
those who are charging former governors in their states and their Deputies with phantom crimes
those that have driven their former governors out of the state
those that Canvassed the sack of Ararume as MD of NNPC
those Who have not been able to explain the numerous killings and assassinations in Imo state including that of Gulak!
Ahmed Shaibu
Deputy Convener
