Organised Labour as collaborators?

By Victor Ikhatalor

SIR: The opprobrium that serenades the Nigerian political class is now labour’s baggage. For the generality of Nigerians, there is a deficit of trust in the actions and intentions of labour borne out from a history of perceived cop-outs and compromises. Certainly, the vim and vigor brought to the 2012 protests against subsidy removal under President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration has not been seen in these parts since!

Subsidy, under-recovery – whatever guise it comes under ought to have been gone in 2012 and should be done with now and forever. A responsive labour will insist on a move away from the opaque process of computation in arriving at product pricing to a clear and verifiable petroleum pricing template! When this part of the storied history of Nigeria will be told to those who will come after us – it will be said that subsidy became the ever present “tortoise” in our corruption story, through which the greatest continuous corrupt fleecing of the commonwealth was perpetuated by dare-devil criminal elements parading themselves as societal luminaries.

In October 2013, the former chairman of Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Dr. Sam Amadi, speaking on behalf of the government, affirmed – “The new PHCN successor companies should see metering of all their customers immediately they take over ownership of the PHCN companies as their major priority to avoid bills estimation”.

This is 2020 and the first line charge of metering customers has been epileptic at best in its implementation. Until such a time as this is done and electricity efficiency is improved, it will be remiss of the government and the DisCos to apply increments of any kind under any guise “especially” in these harrowing times.

Labour has abdicated its core responsibilities for so long – it is traitorous. While labour leaders fancy themselves as politicians and hobnob with that class – they have failed to fight worthy battles. Workers have been left to the whims and caprices of government and employers while the cupidity of labour leaders continues to blossom alarmingly. A crying shame! For, who will now stand as the rallying point for workers and the people against injustices and arbitrariness of government!

The deafening silence and sometimes whimper in the aftermath of the called off protest by labour from collaborative civil society groups tells its own story. Civil society in our shores – unlike in other jurisdictions where they can singularly make protest actions stick have been encumbered by the immoral nocturnal ball juggling of the majority  players which sadly has inhibited the ability of sincere minority players to convincingly juggle balls to the approbation of massed supportive spectators.

Perhaps, as seen in the recent #ENDSARS protests – the youths, taking their destiny into their own hands can change the present narrative.

• Victor Ikhatalor kingjvic7@gmail.com