Labour worries over national security

The lingering problem of insecurity in the country is now worrisome to labour leaders across the country as a group rose recently to declare its support to the amnesty programme of the Federal Government for the members of Boko Haram sect as a way of stemming the tide of their nefarious activities.

The leaders and their members took to the streets in various states of the federation during May Day celeberation calling on government to speed up action in the programme as well as to better the condition of workers and job seekers.  

From the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, to Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kaduna and other parts of Nigeria, labour leaders were unanimous in their clamour for amnesty to Boko Haram sect and more jobs including better conditions of service among other prayers.

At the Eagle Square, Abuja, President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar, lamented that Nigeria faces severe security challenges that threatened its survival.

Omar urged the sect to lay down its arms and accept reconciliation talks as Nigeria is also their country and its dismemberment or destruction offers no way forward for anyone.

“Our productive capacity is similarly diminishing. There is a feeling of loss of identity. We are scared and disfigured as the nation lies prostate and we are shell shocked.

“But more worrying than all of this is our inexorable loss of humanity, both by the murderers and their victims.”

Omar urged the government to take the fight against corruption seriously, but described as “unfortunate” the recent pardon granted former Bayelsa State Governor, Deprieye Alamieyeseigha.

Omar also identified unemployment, insecurity and corruption as some of the challenges confronting the country.

 “We (NLC) have chosen to focus specifically on three key challenges, which if not decisively and timely, could undermine the survival of our nation. These are the challenges of unemployment, insecurity and corruption”.

He added: “Comrades, you will agree with me that today, the country is faced by a monumental unemployment problem. Official statistics put the national unemployment rate at approximately 24 per cent. As high as this rate is, it nevertheless camouflages the enormity of the unemployment crisis in the country. If underemployment and disguised unemployment were to be added to the figure, the monumental crisis will become more glaring.

“More importantly, an analysis of the disaggregated unemployment data shows that the youth bear the greatest brunt of the unemployment problem. The unemployment rate among the youth has been put at 37.7 per cent. Some estimates actually suggest that the figure is over 50 per cent.!

 Continuing, he said: “Whichever way we look at it, it is obvious that we are facing an unemployment time bomb in our nation. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates show that 197 million are unemployed worldwide in 2012. Of these, 74 million are young people between 15 and 24 years of age.

“With an estimated 80 million youths in the total population, 30 to 40 million unemployed youths constitute a veritable army of the hungry, disillusioned and angry that can undermine the stability, security and peace of any nation if left unattended.

“There is an urgent need for decisive intervention to rein in the unemployment problem. The signals of strife and insecurity today are warning banners we cannot afford to ignore.

“To overcome unemployment, Nigeria must promote strong industrial policies that recognise manufacturing as a key engine of growth and decent mass employment for the national economy”, the NLC leader added.

The President General of the Trade Union Congress, Comrade Peter Esele, in his address, also appealed to Boko Haram to accept the effort at granting amnesty by the Federal Government.

Esele noted that the government must find a middle ground between amnesty and justice.

“There can be no security no matter the amnesty or negotiations. What will you tell the policemen who were murdered in Bayelsa? What will you tell Christians who were blown up while worshipping in their churches? What will you tell the people of Baga?” he queried.

He also advocated an overhaul of the nation’s security system, especially in terms of intelligence-gathering and building a computerised database of criminals no matter how small the crime.

Esele, who made his last appearance as president of the TUC, accused the nation’s judiciary of aiding corruption by granting frivolous injunctions and controversial judgments.

Commenting on the economic indices released by the President, Esele said the indices would make no sense if they did not translate to better living standards for Nigerian workers.

He explained that the relocation of several companies from Nigeria to Ghana and other countries indicated that “all is not well with our economy”.

Esele added: “Fellow comrades, our economy has not come to grips with the common man. It has defied all logic. Does it mean that the hallowed developmental strategies that turned the Asians countries into economic tiger nations have no relevance in this country?

“For hundred years, we have transformed virtually nothing. The economy is still mono-product. I am not given to superstition, but what is wrong with us as a nation? This question implies that if traditional economic theories have no place in Nigeria, then we must think out of the box. This country cannot continue like this, otherwise we are heading for the precipice and anything can happen.

He recalled: “Since the beginning of this year, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has repeatedly told us and the rest of the world that Nigeria’s nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is to reach $300 billion within the year, with a yearly GDP growth rate of 7.03 per cent mainly driven by the non-oil sector.

“This is a very good news. But one cannot help but ask some pertinent questions. Which non-oil sectors have contributed so much to our economy? We are now in the second quarter of the year. How far has the economic growth postulated by the CBN reflected in the life of the average Nigerian? How much extra naira has it put in our pockets? Has it provided more food on the table? How much impact has it had on housing, education, job creation, basic infrastructure, among others? Is it real or superficial? Is it the kind of growth that makes the rich richer and the poor poorer? Questions, questions and more questions! My fellow comrades, I leave them all for you to ponder on”, Esele said.

Plateau State NLC Chairman, Jibril Banchir, in his address alleged Plateau State Government of not living up to its responsibilities in terms of payment of workers’ salaries and allowances.

Banchir made the plight of the workers known on Tuesday at the Rwang-Pam Township Stadium in Jos, during the ritual marking of the national workers day in Nigeria.

The union leader said, “Our reward from the Plateau State Government as workers is taking us to court, each time we complain of none fulfillment of government obligation to workers. We are being either denied our due entitlements, or paid half salaries after a long period.”

He stressed that the state lags behind in education adding that the state is three years behind in the academic calendar.

He said its counterparts in other states of the federation had graduated three sets of students in the last three years, but Plateau State was battling to amend the last academic calendar. He described the situation as “unfortunate”.

Similarly, the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), and the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), also used the celebration of May Day to demonstrate against four months unpaid salaries.

The lecturers of the state-owned tertiary institutions have been on strike for over two months for non- implementation of the new salary structure.

In Kwara State, the state chapter of the NLC urged the state government to release its members’ shares certificates bought through the government a few years ago and also review minimum wage of the workers.

This was part of the request of the State NLC Chairman, Comrade Farooq Akanbi, said that failure of government to give the workers their shares certificates would amount to defrauding them.

According to him, “We (workers) remain convinced that government meant well by introducing Kwara workers to the purchase of Zenith Bank shares through loan.

“It is on record that the said loan had been fully repaid by the workers yet those affected are denied their share certificates, dividends and bonuses over the last four years.

“Whatever the issues are between the state government and Zenith registrar, they had better be resolved on time that an average worker does not feel defrauded and deprived of his or her legitimate entitlement.

“While we continue to acknowledge and appreciate the fact that Kwara was one of the states to adopt the N18,000 new minimum wage, our salary table remains low when compared to a number of states in the country.

“After all, beyond being workers, we equally constitute a larger part of the electorate and even party supporters.

“We feel encouraged by the on-going dialogue in the Public Service Joint Negotiating Council.

“It is our prayer that this will be conducted with dispatch in the spirit of guaranteeing industrial harmony as workers cannot be made to wait endlessly.”

In Lagos, State NLC Chairman, Comrade Idowu Adelakun, said the issues of corruption, insecurity and unemployment had remained insurmountable challenges for successive governments saying “government had acceded their rights to provide the traditional needs of its citizens to private enterprise and concerns whose primary goal is to increase profit and pauperise the workforce”.

He also lamented government’s failure and lack of political will to address the decay in most of the sectors of the nation’s economy, submitting that the nation could hardly make meaningful development with moribund institutions.