Sir: The national leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and its Trade Union Congress (TUC) counterpart appear to be taking workers on the payroll of state governments for a ride whenever they threaten the federal government with a nationwide strike. The state chapters of these labour unions do not bother to find out the reason behind such strikes.
For them, the fact that the directive is coming from the national leadership of their unions, led by Joe Ajaero (NLC) and Festus Osifo (TUC) is enough. For that reason, the roof must be pulled down on the head of the presidency unless it does their bidding. As for the state chapters of the NLC, they must dance to their drum beats of war like puppets without considering the relics and rhymes of the drumbeats. That the drumbeats are targeted at the presidency is all but satisfactory to them; whether it is justified or not; whether it is expedient and of any benefits to them does not count.
And when the drumbeats of war settle down, the drummers, Ajaero and Osifo can afford to run away from the drums with a bargain of N35,000 additional wage award for federal workers alone!
They usually leave their pawns in the state chapters wondering what is going on in the end. Workers in the payroll of state governments are always the losers; having joined the bandwagon in futility.
So far, Ajaero, the belligerent NLC president known for kickboxing has not seen the need to traverse each of the 36 states to call out the workers to shut down their states if the state governors fail to implement the wage award as approved by the federal government. He suddenly went quiet after getting what he requested from the federal government. The various state chapters of the NLC are the pawns on the chess board that he can use anytime to achieve his selfish end whenever the need arises.
Ajaero and the national leadership of the NLC will always succeed. Not because they are fighting for the masses; but because the leadership of the state chapters of NLC always act emotionally, like the Jews who shouted “Hosanna in the highest” and minutes later “crucify Him”.
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Virtually all the state chapters have not seen the need to come forward to explain to their members the benefits that have accrued to them in allowing themselves to be dragged into the threats of strike against the federal government.
They have all gone to sleep, except for states like Enugu, Edo and Bayelsa that have keyed into the N35,000 wage award. Others, especially the oil-producing states have turned deaf ears to the wage award.
For the labour leaders in those states, theirs is to mobilize the state workers to jump onto the bandwagon of the NLC national leadership, so long as the strike is targeted at the administration of President Bola Tinubu. In contrast, in their various states, the governors are emperors whom they must not dare.
Today, the state chapters are waiting for the next directive from Ajaero to pull down the roof on the head of the presidency for the benefit of federal workers. Surely, the state chapters will always remain the losers after dancing to Ajaero’s drumbeats of war as the case may arise.
- Ifeonu Okolo, Asaba, Delta State