‘We are running an unjust political and economic arrangement in Nigeria’

Comrade Abiodun Aremu, the General-Secretary, Joint Action Front (JAF), an affiliate of the Nigerian Labour congress in this interview with KAYODE ADELOWOKAN, expressed his feelings on the unfair treatment Nigeria meted to retirees in the country especially those excluded from the coverage of the contributory pension scheme. He blamed the rise of corruption in the country on the prevailing negative culture of the Nigerian society. Excerpt;

How will you describe the attitude of some state governments who owe arrears of pension to retirees?

There is need for Nigerians to understand the basic arrangement of the society, first, in terms of the economic system of the society. Economy or production is the base of every society and whatever is the arrangement; the political and economic arrangement determines the position with which the individual person in the society will be.

In Nigeria, we are running an unjust political and economic arrangement that is concerned about greed and profits which are essential features of exploitation. Once an economic is driven by exploitative tendency, that economy is bound to operate a politically corrupt society and for anybody to relay the high level of corruption in the society, he/she must understand the kind of economic arrangement that we have in the country.

Today, the cure policy of the government is privatization of the economy. Government is not the key driver of the Nigeria economy and to that extent; it opens up the economy for those private individuals whose interest is greed and profits at the expense of the social welfare of the majority of Nigerians.

When you are now talking about corruption in the pension industry; it is quite disturbing at the high fly of corruption in the country. Pension just a part of earn earned labour of any worker because when you work, what you are paid is a fraction of your labour input. The fractions of that labour input that are being kept and are supposed to be invested are what constitute your gratuity and pensions which are suppose to be given to you and once you have an economic arrangement that the focus of those who run it government is greed and profits then, what you have                is looting; various corrupt atrocities because money that are supposed to be legitimately dispensed to the beneficiaries now become money that are being looted and mismanaged.

When you are now talking about the rising profile of corruption in Nigeria, it comes in the context of the economy because if the economic arrangement comes with the intention of serving the people, there will be no money to loot. For instance, there are over 50 million unemployed Nigerian youths today and if those money are to be deployed into the productive sectors, into creating economic opportunities, economic base which will allow a lot of people to work, then, you will discover that Nigerians need more money but when those money are not channeled to social welfare because by virtue of the adoption of the economic agenda of no liberalism, it will make Nigeria dependent on the western creditors’ nations and to the dictates of IMF, world bank and world trade organization. Part of the demand from these creditors’ nations approves that there must be no subsidy, so the government have no business in business. The economy must be privatised and once there is privatization /deregulation, the concern is basically profits. When you are now talking of fighting corruption within an established institution, it will not work, because the looted money has already become an avenue to corrupt the system, escape justice and also to manipulate the judiciary.

If we truly need to fight corruption, we need to fight it from a holistic perspective. Our present Nigeria leaders cannot fight corruption because they earn their profits from corruption. There is nowhere a system that engender corruption can fight corruption, meaning Nigerians must be prepared for a struggle to recover their sovereignty; this is a struggle to ensure political and economic independence because when you talk of independence, it is system that gives you the power to run your own affairs in the way that suits your needs and aspiration. Nigeria is not independent today because we are still dependent on the creditor’s nations’ dictates and that is why you find the minister of finance, CBN governors, economic planning ministers and others that are ministers or holding executives position today only by the virtue of recognition by the IMF and the world bank whose policies are anti-poor and anti-welfare of the people. Whose policies essentially taking away jobs and never create any job and that is what basically create room for corruption and never think those who profit from corruption will in turn now fight corruption.

The Economic and Finance Corrupt Commission (EFCC) was never the creation of the Nigerians rather was part of the requirements from the creditor's nations. In term of your running democracy; democracy to an average Nigerians especially the over 50 million unemployed youths is that how much access to job opportunity do I have; democracy to the market traders is how could I access stock and capital as to run my small business to earn decent means of livelihood and to farmers in the rural areas is how they are going to access necessary farm input so as to carry out their farming.

Similarly, democracy to workers is how their fruit of labour which they have legitimately contributed can be given to them. Once we proceed from that context then we will see that there is need for struggle to fight for our total independent; there is need for a struggle to rid off present looters and exploiters from Nigeria who are surviving by the grace of corruption. There is need to overthrow the present unjust order because it is the looted money that is being use to corrupt the political system has now become the highest bidder and it is this same looted money that make an election to be do or die affairs because politics has now become a business enterprise; once you can find your way into the office then you can access funds that are not through your own productive effort. Being in the office, you have access to all forms of subsidy that are denied the people and that is why we have in the presidency, despite their stupendously accumulations of public wealth they still sustained in the budget that cater for them and their children. Let us ask, what they do with that Money they falsefully accumulated because they are on subsidy of food, medical facility, fuel, education because their children are catered for from the state resources. Invariably, they are beneficiary of all forms of subsidy even from collective wealth of the country. So why would they not now lynch from other wealth of resources that should have been available to develop infrastructures, provide public health, public education and to provide services that people can derive maximum happiness and security of lives and property is what we are expecting.

Economy of greed and profits means you are not your brother's keeper, for there to be hunger or hungry people in the society, it means that there people who have looted what would have be useful for every Nigerians. So, you cannot expect corruption not to rise when the zeal is to loot and that is why all the sectors of Nigeria economy is collapsing; is it the aviation industry you may want to talk about or banking industry? We are all witnesses to the revolution that took place in the banking sector some years back; banks are suppose to operate on private capital; when the banking industry were failing; the likes of intercontinental bank, Oceanic bank and a host of others, they were bail out by public capital.

Similarly, refinery licences have been given to over 40 Nigerian individuals and companies yet none of them have been able to build a single refinery yet they want to take over the refineries constructed with public resources. Licenses were given to people to generate electricity none of them have generated any rather what they want to do is to take over Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) in which all the public resources have been invested in, the same thing happen in the aviation sector; they kill the Nigerian Airways. Viz-a-viz are the things that inform the impunity for them to loot public resources and use the same resource to undermine the law. There is nothing like the rule of law in Nigeria, what we have is the rule of the rich against the poor. Looking at it within the context of the objectives economy as stated in the section 6 of the Nigeria constitution is clear that wealth shall not be concentrated in few hands at the expense of the majority but what we have today is few Nigerians who are stupendously rich. Alhaji Alico Dangote is the classical example of those who have almost looted the country dry. You can go and surveys then find out from any of the Dangote companies today; we have the case of over 700 workers laid off in 2009 from Dangote pastal, Ikorodu, for demanding a review in their conditions of service. These and many others are what created avenue for looting public funds and the only way to stop corruption from being on the rise is not to expect the EFCC nor the code of conduct bureau to address those issues because those institutions lack the capacity to address the issues but the people can address those issues by showing their angers either by stoning some these people and make the society ungovernable for them and comfortable at any stand. Revolution is the only way to get the people to rally round themselves and make sure that there is definite end to corruption, also have their own political party that can bid for power because the whole set up of the society now is about power. Nigerians must begin to realise, without a party of the people, that want to give jobs to people, that wants to run the economy in such a way that every Nigerians will access to education, good health care facility, decent job, social welfare, every Nigerians shall be cater for by the state. Even in the advance capitalist country, they grant social welfare concession to the people because they know that without that, the society will collapse. Here, our society is going down because the economic arrangement only allows the few in the society to live and be rich on the labour and sweat of others.

The mentality of the greed which have infected the society so deep have been carried to the level of callousness where you have no regard for a fellow human begin even the compassion for the aged is lost; they wait till the aged will wait on the queue and in most cases die there yet they are not bordered, only to give empty promises that they are going to pay and at the end of the day, nothing will be heard.

The pension money is not begging money rather it is legitimate money that the people have worked for, so both the state and federal that woe pensioners within their jurisdiction have the responsibility to pay and that was what informed the protest beyond just paying but also agitating for a living pension. A living pension means that their pension must relate to the prevailing economic situations. In which way, if there is inflation that affect pension then the pension payment must be improve upon on the basis of that so that they can earn the value. Much as workers, we want improvement in their wages and conditions of service, the retirees who had also worked must be granted some of those awards, so that is why if you look at the concept of the present protest it not just about the federal government owing pensioners money, the state are also owing,  As a matter of fact, the Lagos State Union of Pensioners of Nigeria has declared the state government has the most notorious in undermining the implementations of the various awards harmonization awards of pension there was a six years award 42%, 6%,15% which are awards on harmonization which are given  between 2000 and 2007 which the Lagos State government have failed to implement, there was some where they have tried to implement and pay for instance like the one of year 2000 where you have that 142%, there is a six years of pension that ought to have been paid those pensioners between year 2000 and 2006, as at today the Lagos State government still owes that 142% for about three years due to the pensioners. because they have only paid three years out of that, there was these issue of the award of 2003 which was the six per cent for the past 10 years Lagos State government has not paid any kobo, As a matter of fact LSG was the only government because of its notoriety and viciousness that challenged those awards by the federal has to improve the life of the pensioners in court and they were defeated that these are there legitimate earnings and they must have it and so that is the context in which we have found ourselves and that is why for JAF it is not just enough to say pay the pensioners what you are owing, rather, it is to ensure that the pension funds are managed by the beneficiary themselves, the pension fund are paid prompt as at when due, the pension fund must be a living fund for them.

In the same vein, our society has the responsibility to cater for the aged and that is what happened in every responsible society. If you look at the constitution today, it makes it mandatory for the government as part of its social welfare responsibility as stated under section 16 that “the state shall ensure maximum happiness of its citizenry as to include; a national minimum living wage...” that is what is in the constitution, pension for the aged. Beyond even given them their legitimate allowance, the aged deserve some compassion from the path of the state and that is why a responsible society would make medical facility available to the aged in the society free to any level including free transportation that is comfortable. These among many others are part of the struggle that Joint Action Front (JAF) is all out for, to correct the corruption level in the society.

In your view how have your retiring members benefited from the activities of PenCom especially regarding the arrears of pension owed to them ?

The issue clearly is at the door step of State governments because pensions are legitimate earnings of the workers. As to the National Pension Commission (PenCom), that is just for the purpose of managing the pensions and if you set up a commission to look into pension cases and that commission has now become a vehicle for looting, it shows you the looting character in the government because there is no reason whereby the agency that was empowered to recover and ascertain pension funds thereafter turned itself to a looting. The perfect example is the case of police pension fund.

The law in our society protects the rich and regards as criminal activities individuals that may steal goat and cause him to go to jail for three years without an option of fine but  gives option of fine to those that steal billions of naira The option here is as small as of N750,000 which is easy to pay and still walk freely in the society.

It is the law in our society that allows the rich to escape justice.

The laws are specifically made to benefit the looters in the society, it encourages corruption because if you have an option to go and loot and you return you have the option of paying N750,000 the why will you not loot?

You cannot expect that law to change because it is a deliberate plan to free those who are looting, and you cannot loot without relating on the path of that who have looted the society and that is the linkage.

In Nigeria today there is no poor man that can access the loan of N10,000 without collateral; some of the looting funds becomes a collateral to the looters

Meanwhile if the law has been such that there is capital punishment for those that loot no one we go near looting the resources of the society because those funds are meant to take care of social welfare responsibility of the society.

Therefore if you don't want corruption and looting to be on the rise you have to change the present system that encourages looting and exploitation, we need a system that take care of the welfare and happiness of Nigerians. So the issue goes beyond paying the pensioners. The issue also has to do with the struggle to ensure that the resources of the Nigerians are judiciously deployed to the benefit of every Nigerian.

What is labour doing  about pension arrears owed by other states governments or are you  after only Lagos ?

Anyway, Labour is in the best position to explain it own plan but at the level of JAF, we are committed to taking up the cases of pensioners to wherever those cases may be in Nigeria because what has happened in the last few days has been an eye opening. Before now, Lagos state government use to give the impression that they owe nobody any pension; it took the declaration of this protest by pensioners to unveil the lies that has been given to the public.

We want to encourage the union of every states; either Lagos, Osun, Rivers, Imo, Kaduna, Kano, Maiduguri and others to bring out their fact and expose those government owing them in terms of their commitment to paying them as at when due.

How convinced are you that government will honour the agreement reached with Labour and its affiliates?

There is a caveat in the statement released by labour that if by first week of May 2013, if those agreements are not honoured, they will be back to the streets. For us in the Joint Action Front (JAF), we don't trust this government for any reason, there is no reason why anybody should have confidence in this government; this government have the catalogues of precedents of dialogues, agreements and promises reached that it has refused to honour in the time past.

Minimum Wage in Osun State: We Condemn the rotten dealing between Aregbesola Govt. and Renegade Labour leaders

Minimum Wage in Osun State: We Condemn the rotten dealing between Aregbesola Govt. and Renegade Labour leaders

Once again, the Rauf Aregbesola-led Osun State government has shown its anti-worker and dubious character with the current underhand dealing with renegade labour leaders to deny workers their legitimate right to nationally legislated N18, 000 minimum wage. This divide-and-rule tactic rather than cowing workers, will further convince them of the need to fight the struggle to logical conclusion sooner than later.

It will be recalled that about two weeks ago, workers, arising from their congresses, resolved to embark on a four-day warning strike to drive home their demand for the implementation of the nationally legislated N18, 000 minimum wage, which the Aregbesola government has stubbornly refused to implement. Indeed, workers have held several congresses to call the attention of the government to the need to fulfill its promise of implementing the minimum wage when the revenue of the state improves. On the contrary, the government has been using various dubious strategies to avoid the issue. In fact, since 2011 when workers went on a three-month strike to compel the government to implement the new wage, the government, in a dubious propagandist manner it is now known for, after some ridiculous increase on workers salaries claimed to be paying N19, 001 minimum wage. In the real sense, what were added to salaries of a majority of workers were between N5, 000 and N10, 000. The most brazen attempt of government at avoiding the payment of a real wage, is the dragging of workers and their unions to the National Industrial Court with the aim of rubbishing the new minimum wage by claiming that minimum wage is for the least paid worker, and not all workers. This again failed, as the government was directed to implement agreement it signed with workers, rather than trying to revise the new wage law.

Not satisfied with this, the government has gone a step further to break the labour movement by buying over labour leaders. Thus, the statements credited to some labour leaders claiming to represent workers of some unions: NULGE, ASCSN and MHWUN, that they did not support the now-botched four-day warning strike, and the subsequent bankrupt statement credited to national secretary of Joint Public Service Negotiating Council (JPSNC) on the invitation of the state government, to the effect that labour centres (i.e. NLC and TUC) do not have right to fight for workers, call workers to congress, or workers taking action on the basis of a congress, are not accidental. They reflect the pinnacle of the treacherous attempt of the Aregbesola government at crippling the labour movement in the state, in order to continue its grandstanding regime. It surely found easy collaborators in the spineless and unprincipled labour leaders who are prepared to sell their birthright for visas to London. This itself is aided by the bureaucratic manner the unions are run, where labour leaders are not subject to the democratic control of and probing by workers. Moreover, the failure of the national leadership of labour movement in fighting to a logical conclusion the implementation of the N18, 000 minimum wage across the board and at all levels, both public and private sectors, contributed immensely to the current travail of workers across the states.

We find it very ridiculous and shameful actions of the renegade labour leaders, who rather than defend workers, preferred to feather their own private nests. This action of the labour further show the need for workers to not only make a fundamental resolve to fight the struggle for the implementation of the minimum wage to a logical conclusion, but to also, more importantly begin the process of reforming their unions and their leadership, if they are to gain substantial improvement in their living conditions. We of the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) maintain our unalloyed and principled support for the workers in the state in their quest for the implementation of the meager N18, 000 minimum wage, even if the labour leaders prefer to sell their birthrights.

The renegade labour leaders in their various statements claimed among other things that the current Joint Negotiating Council (JNC) Chair, Mr. Adejumo in the state had overstayed his term of office and cannot preside over meeting on minimum wage. If this is true, it is unfortunate, and further reflects the bureaucratic manner in which the unions are run, which has made many so-called labour leaders to turn holding union offices into career because of the pecuniary benefits and state patronages they get. But this excuse of the renegade labour leaders is only a cover for their own betrayal. Are they just realising the fact that the JNC Chair has retired now, when they have signed joint statements and memo with the same person. How does the issue of who is the JNC chair stop labour leaders from defending their members' right to a decent wage? Why use the occasion of declaration of a warning strike to raise such issue? Interestingly, these are labour leaders who have not called any press conference or issued any statement on salient issues affecting their members but were quick to organize press conference to condemn a warning strike. They could not even give alternative approach to getting minimum wage implemented, neither did they condemn the government's failure to honour agreement with workers. 

If the treachery of the renegade state labour leaders is condemnable, the ridiculous support given this treachery by some national labour leaders is heart-rending. Some labour leaders led by the national secretary of the JPSNC, Mr Omokhuade Marcus, were invited or more appropriately mobilised by the state government, not to address the issue of minimum wage implementation, but to assist the government in identifying which faction of labour leadership to negotiate with. Of course, the government, having being successful in dividing the labour movement leadership in the state, mobilised the more pliable and useable hands in the national labour leadership to drive a final wedge in the labour movement. Otherwise, why would government turn itself into a labour arbitrator? Government knew those it was negotiating with over minimum wage, so the issue of identifying what is happening in the labour movement is self serving. It is only a cover for a more sinister agenda – breaking the fighting spirit of workers. Unfortunately for the working people, the government got a ready support in some spineless labour leaders. The labour leaders did not of course invite the local leaders to meeting to sort out the issue internally but rather mobilised themselves to the well fueled government train, not to defend workers' struggle but to stab the struggle in the back.

Of course, the government claimed it cannot commit all its resources on workers alone, but a government that wants to develop the state should know that it cannot do that when workers, who should carry out the so-called development projects, are poorly remunerated. On the other hand, politicians and so-called ‘technocrats’ in government are earning several multiples of workers’ salaries for doing practically nothing in comparison to workers’ responsibilities. While government claimed it does not have enough resources to make workers live above poverty line, local government council executives, who do nothing than signing revenue cheques and letters of identification, earn hundreds of thousands of naira, while advisers and assistants, whose jobs, aside praise singing the administration in the media and on social networks, are mere duplication of civil servants’ responsibilities are living large. If the government can get enough resources to pay its fat-cat officials and embark on job-for-the-boys projects, it should have no problem paying workers a nationally legislated wage.

Conclusively, we call on workers to demand for immediate convocation of congresses of various unions, and of the central labour unions, NLC and TUC, to decide how they want to conduct the struggle. We call for fundamental restructuring of labour movement on democratic and revolutionary basis, as against the current arrangement where labour leaders, both local and national, have turned themselves into bureaucratic fetter against workers’ interests and welfare. More importantly, workers must realize the need to build a political alternative to the anti-worker capitalist ruling parties in the country.

Signed

Alfred Adegoke                                                                                                                                Kola Ibrahim

State Protem Chairman                                                                                                                State Protem Secretary

ILO partners Labour Ministry to ratify policy on HIV/AIDS

The International Labour Organisation (ILO), Country Director in Nigeria, Mrs. Chuma Mkandawire has revealed the company’s intension to collaborate with the Ministry of Labour and Productivity towards reviewing the policy on HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.

Mkandawire, who led a delegation of the organisation on a courtesy visit to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Clement Illoh said the decision is in line with Recommendation 200, which is aimed at preventing mother-to-child transmission.

According to her, “The ILO in Geneva has recommended the review of the policy on HIV/AIDS to align with Recommendation 200 of ILO, in this regards our expert will be working with the ministry. The focus on HIV/AIDS especially in Nigeria and other African countries is the prevention of mother-to-child transmission. At ILO we believe that mothers are not only in the house as there are working mothers; we like to see how the policy can address the issue as it affects working mothers.”

The ILO Country Director also appreciate the support and the leadership role the labour ministry has been playing particularly the ministry’s involvements in projects that are of mutual benefit to the country and the United Nations.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and your team for the support and leadership the Ministry has demonstrated in terms of your Ministry’s involvement in projects that are of benefit to both the country and United Nations. Major among which is the Flood Disaster Need Assessment, I am very proud to say that the Ministry played a crucial role and the report is now ready and has been submitted to the UN for onward submission to the Federal Government of Nigeria”, she said.

Mrs. Chuma Mkandawire however used the occasion to seek areas of further collaboration that would enhance not only the ministry’s social and economic mandate but also in terms of programmes that are of mutual benefits to the organisation and the ministry. Adding that the appointment of Dr. Clement Illoh as Permanent Secretary in the ministry is a step in the right direction in view of his expert knowledge of the ministry, while pledging continued support of the ILO to the labour ministry.

In his remark, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Clement Illoh, note that the work plan of the ministry is to register the ratified Maritime Labour Convention 2006 by June in Geneva, in realisation of the designation of Nigeria as an exemplar maritime country.

He said, “The Maritime Labour Convention 2006 is a convention that is very dear to us because it has to do with our seafarers and maritime workers. The Maritime sector will be a beehive of activities in view of the discovery of oil and gas in the region. The earlier we push ahead to ratify this convention the better for all of us. Our work plan is to register the instrument in Geneva by June in realisation of the designation of Nigeria as an exemplar Maritime country.”

He however called the ILO and all stakeholders in the labour sector, to assist in mobilising support for the passage of labour bills, which have been in the National Assembly for years.

He stressed that the passage of the bills will help in addressing most of the developmental issues in the labour sector, and also create the enabling environment for industrial harmony and job creation.

Meanwhile, Illoh has assured Nigeria’s Permanent Representative in Geneva, Switzerland, Ambassador Humphrey Orjiako, of the support and commitment of his ministry towards the realisation of the objectives of the Nigeria Labour Desk, which was established in 1960.

The permanent secretary, who was in Geneva for the 317th Session of the Governing Body of the ILO, made this commitment during a courtesy call on Orjiako.

Speaking further, the Permanent Secretary emphasised the need for effective functioning of the Labour Desk of the (ILO) Geneva towards the realisation of President Goodluck Jonathan's Transformation Agenda in the labour sector, with particular emphasis on international labour diplomacy.

Unpaid arrears: Who will wipe pensioners’ tears?

KAYODE ADELOWOKAN

Introduction  

It is quite disheartening that successive governments in Nigeria have only paid lip service to true governance so much so that one wonders if they invest the word leadership with any seriousness. Indeed, nothing could be truer than the submission of the late literary giant, Chinua Achebe, that Nigeria is plagued with leadership problem. Or how will any responsible and responsive government continually subject about 99.5 percent of the citizens to unnecessary woes?

It is now clear that the investigation following the damning pension saga involving individuals and corporate bodies is just a ruse to douse the ensuing tension from the revelations and reduce the unending causes of the numerous poor pensioners on a daily basis. It is a fact that pensioners from the Federal Civil Service, Nigerian Railway Corporation, defunct Nigeria Airways and State Civil Service, among others, keep dying by the day.

Generally, the pension scheme is good for workers, as they might not be able to save their pension deductions directly. But the operators remain the impediment to this laudable scheme. In Nigeria, it appears it is designed to favor only the operators. The pertinent question is: who really are the operators? It may be rightly said that it is composed of government’s stooges planted to drain the sweats of Nigerians through the back door.

The chairman of Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP), South-West and Lagos State, Alhaji Nasirudeen Ibrahim Adebayo, lamented that pensioners in Lagos State, who are on 142 percent, are owed three years while some of the parastatal organisations are owed four to five years. One of such is the printing corporations while those on six percent have not even be implemented since 2003, not to talk about their arrears which will be 10 years now. A total of 15 percent from 2007 have never even be implemented, not to talk of the arrears which will be six years now.

According to him, pensioners in the primary schools and local governments alone are owed over N600million of gratuities which is their life savings. There are some parastatal organizations in Lagos State that have not been paid for over 10 months now. For example, the printing corporations, Lagos State Television and Radio Lagos, among others, are suffering under the Lagos State government and any attempt to speak with them about is always is a serious headache. What they always talk about is bureaucracy.

“Pensioners in Lagos State alone, according to the data given to me as at February 2013, is over 90, 000 and when 90,000 families are suffering in Lagos State alone, then what else are we talking about? We sent children to schools, but they can get jobs after graduation; yet, some heartless individuals feed fast on our own sweats.”

Case study

According to a report from an online media, a member of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners, who retired from the Nigerian Postal Service, Silifatu Adetola, slumped on Monday, January 7, 2013 as members of the union picketed the Lafiaji Post Office, Obalende, Lagos State.

The reports claimed that all Adetola could mutter as she was being revived by the aggrieved pensioners was that she had not eaten anything that day.

She went down as the protesters chanted in front of the post office. But her colleagues quickly poured water on her and was quickly rushed to a hospital afterwards.

The pensioners were protesting their unpaid 69 months pension arrears. It further revealed that similar protests took place simultaneously in other post office branches in Apapa, Lagos Island and some other states.

 The chairman of the Lagos State chapter of the union, Elijah Akindutire, said the incident was an attestation to the sufferings they were subjected to as a result of the unpaid pension.

He said, “The government owes us 69 months of pension arrears. Most of us came here on empty stomachs. That woman could have died because the government did not see us as important enough to pay what they owe us after serving meritoriously for several years.

“Some of us retired as far back as 2005. Some were paid while some were not. Even those who were paid got a fraction of what they were owed.

“I retired in 2006 and got just a little out of the pension the government owed me since then. The same thing is applicable to other members of the union.”

He explained that the union had previously given the government an ultimatum, which expired on December 11, 2012.

The union’s National Public Relations Officer, Mukaila Ogunboje, said the pensioners were tired of unfulfilled promises by the government.

He explained that the union had recorded 420 deaths among its members since they started agitating for the payment of the arrears.

A civil rights activist, Mr. Darlington Ajitemita, who shared in the pains of the retirees, said the government was being deliberately wicked to the pensioners.

It will be recalled that a 78-year-old pensioner, Mrs. Enang Ekpenyong, and her other colleagues on Monday, January 7, 2013 locked up the premises of the NIPOST in Calabar, Cross River State, insisting that their pension which was last paid in October 2011 should be paid before the premises could become operational again.

Ekpenyong, who earns N26,000 monthly since she retired in the mid 90s, insisted that her pension should be paid or the NIPOST premises would remain closed indefinitely.

This came just as the Cross River State Chairman of the pensioners, Mrs. Ekanem Effiwatt, said no fewer than 15  NIPOST retirees in the state had died in the last one year.

 “I retired in 1996 and I was short-changed when my gratuity was paid. We have made a series of complaints to that effect but no one would listen. I have children, but they too have their issues. I was last paid my monthly pension of N26, 000 in October 2011,” she said.

Vice-chairman of the union, Mr. Christopher Andem, said the pensioners had no intention of vacating the premises until their request was met.

“We have nowhere to go; we must remain here until the management and the Federal Government listen to us and answer us,” he said.

The Nigeria law

 The General-Secretary, Joint Action Front (JAF), Comrade Abiodun Aremu, in a recent interview with Daily Newswatch, said the greed mentality, which has permeated the entire society, has been carried to the level of callousness, where Nigeria governments, both at federal and state levels, do not have regards for the citizenry. He added that even the compassion for the aged is now a rarity in our society. “They wait till the aged will wait in the queue and in most cases die there; yet they are not bordered. They usually make airy promises to give empty promises.

According to him, “The pension money is not begging money; rather, it is the legitimate money that the people have worked for. So, both the Federal Government and the state government that owe pensioners have the responsibility to pay. This was what informed the protest. Beyond this, there are agitations for living pension. A living pension means that their pension must relate to the prevailing economic situations. In other word, if there is inflation that affects pension, then the pension payment must be improved upon on the basis of that so that they can earn the value. Much as the workers want improvement in their wages and conditions of service, the retirees, who had also worked, must be granted some of those awards. That is why if you look at the concept of the present protest, it not just about the Federal Government owing pensioners’ money, the states are also owing. As a matter of fact, the Lagos State Union of Pensioners of Nigeria has declared the Babatunde Raji Fashola-led government has the most notorious in undermining the implementations of the various awards. In the harmonization awards of pension (42%, 6%,15%), which are given  between 2000 and 2007, the Lagos State government has failed to implement it, except for some.  As of now, Lagos State government still owes 142% due to pensioners for about three years. They have only paid three years out of that. There was the issue of the award of 2003, which was the six percent for the past 10 years, but Lagos State government has not paid any kobo. So, our clamour is that it is not just enough to pay the pensioners what you are owing, you must ensure that the pension funds are managed by the beneficiary themselves and that they are paid promptly, so it can be a living fund for them.”

In the same vein, the Comrade said that every reasonable government has the responsibility to cater for the aged in society. “If you look at the Constitution today, it makes it mandatory for the government as part of its social welfare responsibility as stated under section 16 that “the state shall ensure maximum happiness of its citizenry as to include a national minimum living wage.”

Beyond giving them their legitimate allowances, the aged deserve some compassion from the government and that is why a responsible society would make health care facility free to the aged in the society, while also making transportation easy for them. These, among many others, are part of the struggles that Joint Action Front (JAF) is all out for,” he added.

He also decried the stance of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), describing it as a conduit pipe for looting.  The perfect example is the case of police pension fund.

“It is the law in our society that allows the rich to escape justice. The laws are specifically made to benefit the looters in the society. It encourages corruption. You cannot expect that law to change because it is a deliberate plan to free those who are looting,” he explained.

In Nigeria today, Aremu said there is no poor man that can access the loan of N10,000 without collateral.

Aremu said, “Meanwhile, if the law has been such that there is capital punishment for those that loot, no one will ever attempt loot the resources of the society because those funds are meant to take care of social welfare responsibility of the society.

“Therefore, if you don't want corruption and looting to be on the rise, you have to change the present system that encourages looting and exploitation. We need a system that takes care of the welfare and happiness of Nigerians. So the issue goes beyond paying the pensioners. The issues also have to do with the struggle to ensure that the resources of Nigerians are maximally deployed for the benefits of every Nigerian.”

He recounted the January 28, 2013, where a Federal High court ridiculously sentenced former Director of the Police Pensions Board, John Yakubu Yusufu, to two years imprisonment with an option of N750, 000 fine, after he pleaded guilty to charges of stealing N23.3 billion from the Police Pension Fund.

“This condemnable judgement is not accidental because corruption in government at all levels is now a state policy, despite the much-parroted fight against corruption by the successive governments since 1999.

“What proof do Nigerians need that the fight against corruption is a charade than the latest state pardon granted by the Jonathan presidency to the former governor of Bayelsa state, Diprieye Alamieyesiegha, who was convicted for looting Bayelsa State’s funds and is currently being requested for extradition by the British judiciary for corruption charges?”

He, therefore, called on Nigerians not to be silent in the face of the brazen looting of the treasury and daylight robbery of the legitimate benefits and entitlements of the pensioners.

“JAF is committed to taking up the cases of pensioners to wherever those cases may be in Nigeria because what has happened in the last few days is an eye- opening. Before now, the Lagos State government used to give the impression that it owed nobody any pension. But it took the declaration of this protest by pensioners to unveil the lies that have been given to the public.

“We want to encourage the unions across the country to bring out their facts and expose those governments owing them,” he empathised.

So, in view of the prevailing circumstance,  those who are still in active service should intensify their prayers that they don’t  labour in vain.