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  • Okada trade is undignifying, says NLC chief

    Okada trade is undignifying, says NLC chief

    SHOULD Nigerians accept commercial motorcycle popularly known as okada as a form of public transportation?

    No, says Deputy President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Comrade Issa Aremu. “Okada is very undignifying and the job, very risky,” he said.

    Speaking in Lagos, Aremu said okada should be banned outright.

    Aremu said: “Let us all continue to give the government the needed support to revive acceptable modes of transportation that would address mass transportation and one that we would all be proud of as a people. Okada is demeaning and dehumanising and can never be an alternative to mass transportation in this country.”

    He urged Lagosians to continue to support government’s investments in the public transportation sector, which according to him, remains the way out of unemployment and poverty.

    Many, he said, would benefit from jobs that could be created by the inter-modal means of transportation, rather than the risky job of okada.

    Facts, he said, showed that the rate of okada related accidents and okada related crimes have dropped across the state, adding that these should be supported and strengthened.

    About two weeks ago, the Lagos State House of Assembly initiated moves to amend the Schedule II of the Lagos State Traffic Law 2012, restricting okada operation on the highways, 495 major roads, bridges and pedestrian walkways.

    Citing continued operators’ complaints of harassment, extortion and confiscation of their motorcycles even on approved routes by policemen, the law makers, in a resolution, urged Governor Babatunde Fashola to prevail on the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Umar Manko, (who was then the Commissioner of Police), to order his men to stop apprehending operators, pending the amendment to the law.

    The government distanced itself from the move as the Commissioner of Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, denied government’s knowledge of the proposed amendment.

    He said: “Okada business is not a decent job, it is not unionised and not pensionable. I admit that people go into it because of economic pressure, but there was a time in this country when okada was never an option. Let us go back to that era. Let us collectively say no to okada as a form of transportation.

  • NLC seeks probe of rights violations

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has urged the Federal Government to probe alleged human rights violations during last Saturday’s election in Osun State.

    NLC President Abdulwahed Omar, in a congratulatory message to Governor Rauf Aregbesola, the winner of the poll, advised those whose rights were violated to seek redress in court.

    He said: “We call on relevant the authorities to investigate alleged rights violations, including the arrests of some people, including accredited observers and journalists, during the election as well as the infringement of the rights of some Osun citizens. These citizens and everyone whose rights were violated should consider approaching the courts for redress.”

    Omar praised Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Attahiru Jega for the peaceful election, saying: “This election reaffirms our conviction that democracy is maturing very fast in the country, since it has become obvious that the people’s votes now count in elections.

    “It is to the credit of the integrity of the Jega-led INEC, the electorate and the candidates that any election, such as this, would come out not only successful but credible. This is an indication that our country is hopeful.”

    Advising against desperation in politics, he said: “We should strive to improve on the elections in Ekiti and Osun states through deeper understanding and commitment to the sustenance of democracy. We can only grow as a country when we adopt democratic values, as there is no option to democracy anywhere in the world.”

    Commending the conduct of security personnel, Omar said security presence in any election may not be to the advantage of civil conduct.

    He said: “What we sure need is more of decency and patriotism by politicians, who should adopt attitudes helpful to peaceful conduct and sportsmanship. Nigerians, especially those involved in election-related activities, should jettison violence and indecent behaviour before, during and after elections. We all have a stake in the sustenance of democracy, the only guarantee for a peaceful, prosperous and well governed country.

    “We hope the re-elected governor realises that now is the time to keep his promises of delivering more good governance to the people without animosity or political bias. The entire state and people should be seen as his major constituency.

    “We distinctively hope his second term in office will bring him closer to workers, as majority of the votes that returned him to power came from workers. His government should review outstanding issues relating to workers’ welfare and ensure that his second term would be strike free.”

  • NLC chief canvasses workers’ training

    The Deputy President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero has called on unions and right activists to invest in human capacity building to advance their positions and interests in the context of engagement with employers and government.

    Ajaero, who is also the General Secretary of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), made the call during the condolence visit of the NLC to the country home of the late Comrade Bamidele Francis Aturu in Lagos.

    He said: “The call was necessary because the only way to honour him for the vacuum created by his death is to promote human rights and labour movement through aggressive human capacity development.

    “Our call is necessary because Aturu, until his death, was not only our official lawyer; he was a very resourceful ally of the entire labour movement as a consistent comrade who committed his entire adult life to the struggle for a better society.’’

    He emphasised that Labour’s mobilising and organising capacity, for instance, can more ingeniously be utilised to advance its position and interests, in the context of engagement with other stakeholders.

    “I am of the view that labour and right groups must increasingly restate their relevance in the field of development, in the same way that both groups need to more clearly demonstrate a capacity to engender progressive policies, working in institutional arrangements with other relevant stakeholders, such as employers and government through capacity building for the movement not to die a natural death.

    “I am also of the view that an important area to consider as part of labour’s greater focus of development issues, should be human capacity building. This area is critical to the extent that it maps around all possible strategic and operational goals of trade unions”, he said.

    On why training should be a principal focus of labour at this time, Ajaero said: “I would like to answer by reiterating the substantive institutional context, which define human capacity building as the third transition phase of labour and development history.

    “This phase has several correlates that appear to render the trade union and its members vulnerable. And such features as casualisation, downsizing and outsourcing are common with this phase, which encompasses issue such as human capacity development that has consequences for the union, its members, the organisation and the country.”

  • A president’s misplaced priority

    A president’s misplaced priority

    Critical national problems Jonathan’s PR fund could have solved

    IN silence, her eyes raved. They uttered words that had no measure. Sitting on a corner bench in her shanty porch, she cut a perfect picture for a “save-the-needy” campaign. But Gladys Nenghe spotted no hope. She gave up on that two months before she turned 21in March 2012. That was after it became apparent to her that despite graduating cum laude from high school, she would not be able to proceed to a university of her dream. Nenghe had to forgo her ambition to study History and International Relations at the Lagos State University (LASU) because her father couldn’t foot her bills anymore. “I barely made it through secondary school,” she said.

    Stoically, she counted her losses and cast them behind her. But just when she managed to secure employment as a sales girl for an Ikeja, Lagos-based air freshener producer, Nenghe became the victim of an unavoidable and long-drawn out battle of will and wit between the Federal Government and the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC). Sitting pretty on the bench in her filthy porch, Nenghe cursed the day the strike action began. According to the 23-year old, the strike action cost her too much, particularly her employment as guerilla marketer for the local air freshener producer.

    “I prayed fervently that we are allowed to go back to work. It didn’t matter what the government and NLC decided. Me…I needed to make money for my schooling. I needed money to survive. I have no mother to assist me and my father can do nothing. He is an old man. He was a civil servant in Benue State before he was sacked. Now, I have three brothers and a father depending on me. The strike ruined us. We had nothing to eat,” disclosed Nenghe, adding that the hopes of her entire family currently rests on a paltry N240 she had been holding on to since she scrounged it off a childhood friend.

    Cynthia Duru’s predicament also offers food for thought. Duru, a graduate of Industrial and Human Relations and Masters Degree holder in Business Administration (MBA) thought she had prepared herself well to compete in the country’s budding information technology industry. For five years, she studied hard. But after graduating in February 2011, Duru discovered that even those desirable qualifications mean little in Nigeria’s congested labour market.

    Duru struggled to keep faith, sending a total of 58 résumés to different organisations but she hasn’t got a single offer. Today, she applies makeup on newlywed brides for a fee, but that industry itself has recently become congested with the massive influx of secondary school dropouts and undergraduates seeking to augment their allowances and unemployed graduates seeking to make ends meet. Predictably, Duru’s earnings can barely sustain her hence she still squats with her elder brother in his one room apartment in Ogba-Aguda, Lagos.

    Miles from Nenghe and Duru’s peculiar problems, in faraway Kirfi Local Government, Bauchi State, Rabia Muhammadu, 30, struggles to feed her five children daily. In her drifting voice and tired gaze resonates the heartfelt wail of her 1,000-year-old village, Jagalwa. Lost behind a blur of withered flora and copious sand dunes, Muhammadu and over 2, 000 residents of Jagalwa struggle against intimidating odds every day.

    “We dwell in destitution and abject neglect,” said Muhammadu Danladi, 50, the deputy Jooro (deputy chief) of Jagalwa. There are no industries, small and medium scale enterprises in the area. Hence, the major means of livelihood for the entire community is subsistence farming. Jagalwa lacks electricity, pipe-borne water, good roads and a functional health centre. The houses are built with mud and bamboo and planks are used as beams for support.

    Due to government’s inability to provide basic amenities, the community, comprising “over 2, 000 people,” depend on a single well for their use. “Whenever it rains, we manage to get water from puddles that collect in a few potholes along the road. But we have to share the water in the potholes and the well with her cattle. Now that there are no puddles to draw from, the entire community depends on this single well (he said pointing to the well). The water is dirty but we are forced to drink it like that,” said Danladi, 50.

    Danladi complained bitterly of successive governments’ insensitivity to their plight. According to him, the government does not care what happens to them. “It’s like we do not exist to them (the government)…this is very bad. This is not what they promised us. They come here to campaign and seek our votes at election time; they promise to give us electricity, fertilizer, hospitals, good roads, pipe borne water and they promise to build schools for our children. It’s all lies. They come here to lie every time. No sooner had they got our votes than they forget us completely,” lamented Danladi.

    Farther from the local scenes of impoverishment and abject neglect, Ahmadu Bubaji, 74, grapples with grief he does not know how to make sense of. The resonance is bloodcurdling and replete with anguish and rage several months old. Bubaji’s misery is unbounded: the 74-year old lost his wife, Aminatu  thus suffering a brutal and sudden end to a marriage of 52 years Lima, their only daughter and two grandkids in a bloody attack carried out by Boko Haram in Bama. This occurred one month after he received news of his son’s death in the Nigerian Joint Task Force (JTF)’s April 16 offensive against the Boko Haram sect in Baga, Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State.

    Umar, his son, was gunned to death as the JTF sought to rout suspected Boko Haram sect members at Baga, in a campaign that left no fewer than 185 people dead. Precisely 2, 275 buildings were razed to the ground while 65 motorcycles and 40 cars were burnt in the attack.

    While Bubaji struggled to deal with his grief, Boko Haram insurgents dislodged from their camps in Sambisa Game Reserve by the JTF issued an ultimatum to residents of his community and Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State. “They gave us one week to vacate our homes,” said Bubaji. Consequently, he fled with his daughter-in-law, Khadija, and Idris, his surviving grandchild, across the border into Cameroun.

    With thousands of their neighbours and residents of Bama, Gwoza and other neighbouring communities, they sought refuge in Mokolo. While in Mokolo, Governor Awa Fonka Augustine of Cameroon’s Far North Region visited them and urged them to leave with him for a better organised refugee settlement in Garwa.

    “We had no choice but to comply,” said Bubaji. According to him, his family and 2,997 fellow refugees had constituted great strain on their host Cameroonian community and it was only a matter of time before they encountered hostilities from their hosts who struggled to accommodate them and share their very scarce resources with them.

    Nenghe, Muhammadu, Danladi and Bubaji without doubt are united by a common bondthey are Nigerians on the receiving end of what Danladi describes as abject government insensitivity and neglect.

    But rather than get in the trenches to find lasting and humane solutions to their plight, the  Federal government, led by President Goodluck Jonathan, contracted an image-laundering deal valued at $1.2 million (about N275 million) a year to Washington, DC, United States-based public relations firm, Levick Strategic Communications. Levick accepted the deal to help manage President Jonathan’s image, which has taken a beating in recent weeks over the Nigerian leader’s poor handling of the abduction of more than 250 high school girls in Chibok, Borno State by dreaded terrorist group, Boko Haram.

    Levick Strategic Communications was engaged to assist with a range of government affairs and public relations matters. The agreement is with effect from June 16, for an initial term of 12 months. According to the contract, professional fees for Levick staff will be billed at the rate of $100,000 per month (about N15,573,000).

    Levick is to engage Jared Genser of Perseus Strategies, “a lawyer in the international human rights and democracy community”, to assist in the firm’s objectives “to promote transparency, democracy and the rule of law throughout Nigeria”.

    The sub-contract to Genser will attract additional $25,000 per month (about N3.9million) and “will be passed through in its entirety Perseus Strategies”.  Levick will bill travel-related expenses and meals to the government. “We estimate these to average $22,500.00 per professional per trip,” the firm said.

    Additionally, the government will pay a percentage of the fees upfront. “It is our policy to invoice our clients a flat 4.50 per cent of monthly fees to cover these costs,” Levick said.

    Fees for other services, such as paid media, video production and web development, will be borne by the government in addition to the fees for Levick staff.

    “Actual long-distance or conference calling charges incurred on behalf of the client will be billed separately, at cost,” the firm demanded. The government will also bear third-party vendor expenses, such as private newswire, outsourced printing, copy jobs, and significant costs for postage and handling.

    Levick is to begin work upon receipt of advance quarterly retainer and interest of 1.5 per cent will be charged on all balances outstanding over 30 days. The government also agreed to indemnify and hold Levick and its agents “harmless” with respect to any claims or actions for libel, slander, defamation, copyright infringement, idea misappropriation or invasion of privacy arising out of the firm’s consultation.

    It was agreed that work would begin upon Levick’s receipt of the signed agreement and initial payment. The funds are to be sent by cheque to Levick or by wire transfer to its banker, BB&T, Washington, DC, with account number 5156166334.

     

    Nigerians express outrage over “window dressing” PR campaign

    In the wake of the President’s action, concerned segments of the citizenry have condemned the PR deal, claiming it is hardly the needed palliative to the nation’s escalating security, political and socio-economic woes.

    Yomi Sanya, a Lagos-based lawyer argued that no degree of image laundering could improve perceptions about Nigeria’s incumbent leadership in the eyes of the international community. “What the government needs to do is to get serious and start addressing the country’s several maladies with the purposefulness and aggressiveness they deserve.

    “That PR initiative is just another sad case of window dressing by Mr. President. He is yet to rescue the abducted girls of Chibok and he is desperate to repair his severely battered image. I will say that is simply a misplacement of priorities,” said Sanya.

    Corroborating him, Segun Lawson, a civil engineer, noted: “An atmosphere of distrust has submerged the trust we initially reposed in Mr. President. And it extends beyond his office to every other public officer. We do not trust our leaders anymore. And they do absolutely nothing to correct the situation. Life is scarier today than it used to be.”

    A hashtag #SomeoneTellLevick is currently trending in Nigeria in response to the image laundering deal between the Washington, DC-based public relations firm and President Goodluck Jonathan. Some of the hashtag critics of the deal accuse the American PR firm of accepting “blood money” to help burnish the image of a Nigerian ruler who appears absentminded and disconnected in the face of a deteriorating security situation in his country.

    True, the situation in the country presents a grim portrait of cynicism and hopelessness. And nothing accentuates this despondent state more than the scandalous episode of March 15, 2014; the incident involving thousands of traumatised and unemployed youths locked in a deathly struggle for the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) jobs. The NIS had advertised vacancies for 4,550 entry level officer positions but in response, 6.5 million unemployed graduates applied for the jobs each paying the N1, 000 fee non-refundable fee for the application form.

    Apparently swooning from the financial implication of registering applicants that exceed the number of advertised positions, the NIS proceeded to conduct a 35-minute aptitude test for half a million shortlisted job seekers, outdoor, in large city venues across the country, all in one day.

    By the time the pandemonium was over, 25 applicants had been trampled to death and thousands more sustained grievous injuries. The nation watched in horror as the catastrophe evolved with many parents and guardians watching helplessly as their children and relatives were forced to engage in a humiliating scramble for survival. Besides losing their dignity as humans, all of the applicants also lost their non-refundable application fees.

    In their reaction to the incident, the Minister of Interior and officials of the NIS blamed the multitude for flouting stipulated test centre procedures.

    That singular incident emphasised the country’s unemployment quandary. However, to understand the miseries of the Nigerian youth, it helps to understand the social realities of the world in which they are maturing into adults. Nigeria has arguably one of the richest and largest natural resource deposits in the world. Government and the structure of government however, constitute a challenge to development. For instance, the total cost of servicing government and public officers has continued to exceed 70 per cent of annual budget in the last 12 years while just little is left to service capital project or human development.

    Even so, the Nigerian leadership confidently announced a new gross domestic product (GDP) of $510 billion on April 6, 2014, up from the GDP of $290 billion, and thus becoming the largest economy in Africa after overtaking South Africa’s GDP of $370 billion. Nigeria’s output has reportedly been experiencing a continual expansion of about 6.5 per cent yearly over the past decade with a current population of 165 million, compared to South Africa with 3 per cent average annual growth rate and a population of 51 million.

    The new GDP figure was obtained by changing the base year from 1990 to 2013 for calculating its output to reflect newly emerged sectors of the economy such as telecoms, information technology, music, online sales, airlines, and film production. The figure instantly shrank Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP ratio from 19 per cent for 2012 to 11 per cent for 2013.

    Income per head for Nigerian citizen as per 2011 index is $1,423, that is GDP $235.92 billion divided by 165 million population. That of Singapore is $63,740 income per head with GDP $318.7 billion and population 5 million; Chile $14,623 with GDP $248.59 billion and 17 million population; Brazil $12,653 income per head with 196 million population and GDP $2.48 trillion.

    However, news about the country’s rising economic prosperity gives little cause for excitement amongst the citizenry. Ngozi Philomena Okor, a retired school teacher, argued: “What use are the figures they are quoting when the citizenry can neither feel nor enjoy the dividends of such reality? I think our government has taken us for granted. That is why they try to deceive us with such spurious figures.”

    Recent United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) states that Nigeria is not one of the African countries recording remarkable improvement in its human development index. The agency in its 2013 Human Development Index (HDI) Report listed Angola, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Tanzania among the African countries that made the greatest strides in HDI improvement since 2000. According to the report, Nigeria was ranked amongst countries with low development index at 153 out of 186 countries that were ranked.

    Life expectancy in Nigeria is placed at 52 years while other health indicators reveal that only 1.9 per cent of the nation’s budget is expended on health and 68.0 per cent of Nigerians are stated to be living below $1.25 daily. Adult illiteracy rate is 61.3 per cent yet the report contradicts the reported growth in the Nigerian economy, with the country recording a GDP growth rate of 6.99 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2012.

    At the backdrop of this grim situation, the nation has to contend with persistent power outage. Of about 35,000 MW energy needed to light homes and power industry in the country, Nigeria generated less than 10 percent at 3,463MW up till March 20, 2014 when it dropped to the previous abysmal level of 2,500MW or seven per cent. The government however, blamed the situation on “a significant drop in gas supply and a number of fire accidents along the Benin-Sapele highway.”

    Despite this grim picture, the country’s economy has been described as robust and resilient.

    At the backdrop of this socio-economic situation, the Nigerian youth are witness to the

    Federal Government’s outrageous budget of a whooping N992.57 million on food and general catering services for President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice President Namadi Sambo in 2012.

    Out of the N4.749 trillion budget presented by Jonathan to lawmakers at the twilight of 2011, N18.34 billion was budgeted for the state house and from that, the cost of foodstuffs, catering supplies and kitchen equipment for the President, his deputy and their offices was estimated to cost the nation N992.57 million, approximately N1 billion.

    This infuriated the nation’s teeming youth and drove them to the streets in a protest march tagged the “Occupy Nigeria” movement. Although the protest which was meant to object President Goodluck Jonathan’s removal of fuel subsidy as well as perceived profligacy of his administration occurred with maximum turnout and pockets of skirmishes that led to death of few youths in the hands of the police across the country, the situation, contrary to widespread apprehension, didn’t degenerate further than that. The “Occupy Nigeria” protest is over, but the youth have discovered more effective means of venting their frustrations: they simply pick up a gun and explosive device.

     

    Problems the N275 million PR money could have solved

    Instead of spending such money on what Ruqqayah Amona, an economist and grassroots microfinance bank administrator identify as “window dressing,” President Jonathan should have invested such money in resolving some of the country’s infrastructural and economic woes argued Amona. And she might not be too far from the truth. This is because the situation in wastelands like Jagalwa presents an eyesore. For instance, the only school in the community, Jagalwa Primary School, comprises just two classrooms and there are no desks or chairs in the classes save three rubber mats spread in one of the classes for pupils to sit and write on. Headmaster of the school, Zakka Husseini, claims that the school has a population of 85 pupils although the pupils that could be sighted at the time of The Nation’s visit barely numbered 16. En route the school, Husseini was sighted chasing after pupils that were fleeing from school although he maintained that the number of pupils in school was scanty because majority of the pupils had gone to visit an ailing classmate. Husseini doubles as the schools headmaster, science and mathematics teacher and he claimed that three other teachers frequently visited to assist in teaching the students.

    An interesting feature of the school, however, is that even though there is no electricity in the area, the two classes making up Jagalwa Primary School are fitted with ceiling fans and the floors are covered with expensive terrazzo. The headmaster could not identify clearly the classes making up the school and despite his hearty efforts to make excuses for the glaring lack characteristic of the school, he could not do much to explain away the school’s abject neglect by the government.

    And at a time that the country requires N56 trillion, according to Gimba Ya’u Kumo, Managing Director of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), to reverse the nation’s housing deficit of 18 million housing units, such money could have been invested in bolstering President Jonathan’s touted drive to provide affordable housing to the homeless and low income earners.

    Housing experts argue that for those in the low income bracket, it is possible to build a house on a lean budget of between N2.5 million and N3 million. Rasheed Amoo, an electrical/construction engineer and Managing Director of Hardalt Technical Ventures, Papalanto, Ogun State, advised that aspiring house owners with lean budgets should look beyond the major city areas to acquire land for their homes. According to him, with N3million, you can build a modest home for yourself and your family on the city outskirts.

    The inherent advantages in diverting such money to finance low cost housing schemes or building hostels for the homeless in such locations are inestimable, argued Amoo. According to the former Project Engineer of Dunlop Nigeria Plc, if Mr. President had invested such money in ameliorating the nation’s housing woes, it would go a long way in resolving the nation’s housing deficit and homelessness.

    Several other infrastructural lapses across the country including the preponderance of bad roads, chronic electricity outages and inadequate healthcare have been identified as major areas deserving urgent government attention. “I do not understand why Mr. President prefers to pay N275 million to an American PR agency to create a favourable image for him at home and abroad. Why would he do that? If he could devote such money to supporting the improvement of ailing sectors of the country, the citizens will be happy with him. We will think favourably of him and he would need no expatriate PR firm to launder his severely battered image. Good leadership begets good image at home and abroad…It’s as simple as that,” said Tope Olubode, a school teacher.

  • Activists, Labour leaders eulogise Aturu

    Activists, Labour leaders eulogise Aturu

    Pro-democracy groups, right activists and Labour movement yesterday extolled the virtues of the late rights activist, Comrade Bamidele Aturu at a colloquium and tribute session in his honour.

    The event took place at the Abibat Model Secondary School, Lagos with the theme:  Struggle for Social Change in Nigeria.

    The Chairman of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar said Aturu died at a time the country is witnessing a deficit of leadership.

    Omar who was represented by Comrade Issa Aremu said Nigeria is passing through difficult moments and needs the likes of Aturu to salvage the sinking ship.

    He said: “His loss is not just a loss to you but a complete loss to all comrades in Nigeria. He stood with us in our struggle to get workers better bargain and provided us free legal service.”

    Omar called on other rights activists to rise up to the challenges facing the country as a mark of honour for him.

    The chairman of the occasion, Comrade Femi Aborisade said the late activist was a selfless man, who saved his life in many occasions when it was threatened by the authority.

    He said: “His death is not only a big loss but a painful personal loss. He stood up for my family to ensure that my existence was not shortened by the power that be. He used legal skills to win many positions for the masses of the country.”

    Prof. Priincewill Alozie who made the lead speech said the arrogance of the ruling class has continued to weaken the socio-economic base of the people, noting that the trend would not lead to the dream of the founding fathers of the country.

    “The ordinary people are being oppressed, majority of the people are jobless yet government wants a society that is free of crime. I must say he devoted his time prevent unfriendly atmosphere in the country.

    Comrade Abiodun Aremu said the ruling class has place hiccups on the trade unions to weaken their base. “The present government has ensured that labour is gag to do its bidding. This is because the labour movement has lost its ideology. We must get over this by ensuring that the labour movement is not politicised and the people’s interest must dominate out struggle all the time.

    The Chairman of NIgeria Bar Association, Ikeja, Mr. Yinka Farounbi said Aturu would have exhausted all his saving because he fought the cause of the masses at no cost.

    He urged the NBA and the human rights movement to ensure that the left he behind does not suffer, stressing that he was a distinguished legal practitioner.

    “The greatest legacy we can keep in honour of Ature is to sustain the good name he left behind. He was focussed, upright and took on the authorities over issue of corruption and inhumanity against the people. These positions were not cherished by the power that be because he was a thorn in their flesh.”

     

     

  • Don’t torment opposition governors, NLC tells Jonathan

    Impeachment and threats of impeachment of All Progressives Congress (APC) governors is suspicious, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) National Vice-President Isa Aremu has said.

    The labour leader said the sanctity of tenure is needed to sustain democracy.

    Aremu, who was a member of the National Conference, spoke yesterday in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, on the state’s radio programme, The Platform.

    The labour leader urged President Goodluck Jonathan not to use his office to torment governors in the opposition.

    He said: “What is worrisome to me is that of Nasarawa. The impeachment notice was served just at the time the President, who comes from another party, was visiting the state. I mean we should not give it the impression that the President is using his office to torment a governor in an opposition state. I don’t think this is the intention of the President.

    “What I am saying is, even the timing alone makes it to be suspicious. The President is an elected President. Currently, he is our President. He has the right to relate with elected governors but he cannot relate with you when, as he is arriving at the state, the governor’s job is being threatened.

    “I want President Jonathan to use his office to re-direct our political discourse along the line of statesmanship. He has done it before and I think he can do it before. Several times, he was threatened with impeachment and Nigerians stood up to say no.

    “I am not a fan of some of these governors. Some of them are known for recklessness and a lot of executive impunity. But a good number of them engage in self-help for themselves rather than public service for their people. Of course, there are some governors who have also performed, who endeared themselves to the electorate in their states.”

  • NLC pickets Port Harcourt Disco offices

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has continued its picketing of the facilities of the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) offices in the South-south geo-political zone of the country, following the sealing off of the Uyo Business Centre in the Akwa Ibom State capital.

    The umbrella body of workers in the country had embarked on the same exercise in some other states in the region with the latest being Akwa Ibom State.

    The state chairman of the NLC, Comrade Unyime Usoro, said the decision to picket the office was informed by sundry issues, which other regions especially in the northern part of the country have implemented.

    Issues or complains raised by the NLC against the PHEDC include the non-payment of severance benefits to disengaged workers, arbitrary billing of customers, removal of Akwa Ibom indigenes from management positions and an anti-union posture.

    Usoro said the new company from the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) was yet to pay terminal benefits to all disengaged workers of the company. He also accused the PHEDC of staff casualisation as well as the non-payment of leave benefits.

    “Over 20 per cent of the disengaged workers of PHCN are yet to be paid terminal benefits,” he said, stressing that the NLC decided to picket the company to protest the unacceptable policy of engaging workers on casual basis.

    The state NLC boss stressed that the closure of the company in the state would continue until the management of the company dialogued with the union on the enumerated contentious issues.

    However, the Manager of the Uyo Business Centre, Mr. Reginald Madu, decried the mode of operation of the union, saying he was almost lynched by the aggrieved union members.

    He said: “I don’t know anything about it, no prior information, the NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC) members of the electricity union descended on me and locked up the place, I managed to escape death.”

  • NLC warns against media clampdown

    NLC warns against media clampdown

    Workers joined yesterday the massive condemnation of the military’s attempt to muzzle the press.

    TheNigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Lagos State House of Assembly and the Senior Pastor of Trinity House Ituah Ighodalo, urged Nigerians to resist any attempt to restrict the media in a democracy.

    NLC, in a statement by its President Abdulwahed Omar, said the clampdown on newspapers, which began on Friday, is absolutely unacceptable and clearly out of place in any democratic society.

    “We strongly believe a free press is very critical in the sustenance of democracy and any obstruction to the operations of any critical organ of our democratic process would be resisted as the recent infringements in the circulation of newspapers portend. In any case foreign media organisations seem to have more access to information on these violent groups, especially Boko Haram, than our security agents.

    “The military and other security agencies must restrict themselves to the protection of our sovereignty and go after those threatening this with violent attacks that have almost disappointingly overwhelmed those paid to protect lives and property, despite huge budgetary allocations.

    “The security challenges we face must not be politicised and perhaps those in authority must know they are responsible and accountable to all Nigerians no matter what class, dogma, ethnic or political dispositions, and must not see governance with political bias.

    “Democracy cannot survive without the media; no democracy anywhere in the world can survive with a circumscribed media. Freedom of and access to information is what builds democracy and we must not allow any of our security agencies or military formations befuddle our collective quest for sustained democratic governance,” NLC said.

    According to the workers’ body, the period of impunity associated with unaccountable military dictatorships should not be reawakened by those elected under democratic platforms, adding that this will mean an open invitation to anarchy.

    “What Nigeria and Nigerians need now is an end to the ongoing armed attacks and we believe all agencies responsible for the protection of lives and properties in Nigeria are capable of ensuring this if well motivated, better equipped and not partisan.

    “In the course of disrupting newspaper circulations, not a few have been left in deeper agony and poverty since their means of livelihood have come under armed attacks by those expected to protect them.

    “The war against the media should not only be stopped immediately, all those who suffer losses especially vendors and publishers must be compensated while the officers involved in the attacks must be apprehended and adequately punished as enemies of democracy.

    “What we all want is a total annihilation of all gangs that threaten lives and properties in Nigeria and the media have not been proved to be part of this threat. Instead, they have helped everyone with useful information, which also encourage security consciousness among citizens.

    “We all want results and the military and other security agencies involved in the battle against the budding insurgency in Nigeria need to urgently prove their abilities and professional prowess through the safe rescue of the Chibok girls seized since almost two months, and also apprehend the violence that have engulfed our country,” NLC said.

    During plenary at the Lagos Assembly, Hon. Moshood Oshun, who represents Lagos Mainland 2 Constituency, raised the matter under matter of urgent public importance.

    He said the seizure of the publications was meant to kill the press, adding that this used to be the norm under the military government, but that it is wrong under a democratic government.

    “If the Federal Government felt bad about any report, it should go to a court of law rather than harassing, beating and detaining newspaper vendors, who don’t even know how the reports in the newspapers were written. It is wrong for the government to seize newspaper copies at this material time in the country,” he said.

    The Speaker, Adeyemi Ikuforiji said that it was not possible to kill the press as he said that even the military could not kill the press.

    “If they don’t allow the press to publish openly, they would go underground and still publish. There is no way the Federal Government can kill the press. They should bring back our girls and fight Boko Haram instead of fighting the press,” he stated.

    Others who condemned the clampdown are Hon. Rotimi Olowo (Shomolu 1); Hon. Segun Olulade (Epe 2) and Hon. Mudashiru Obasa (Agege 1).

    Ighodalo at a news briefing in Lagos said the government or the army should have gone to court if they felt there was a false report in the media.

    “This is a nation where there are laws. This is a nation that is meant to be a democracy, where there should be freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of interaction and freedom of association. Anybody is allowed to say what they want to say.

    “If you’re not happy with what they have said, there is a law. You can recourse to the court. You can sue them. You can sue them for blasphemy. You can sue them for infamy. You can sue them for whatever, but the law must be allowed to follow its process.

    “There must be no kind of intimidation and clampdown on the media. It’s an abuse of office. And it’s an abuse of fundamental human rights and freedom. This is a free country, and people should be allowed to freely express themselves. If you’re unhappy with what they have said, please take them to court and let the court have its way. It’s as simple as that.

    “The impression is that it is the military on its own accord that is trying to prevent information from being spread in the media. But you know that the military cannot act on its own, otherwise it may be accused of insubordination.

    “Whether it is orders from above, or orders from the military, neither is correct. It is not proper for the media or any Nigerian to have their fundamental human rights abuse,” Ighodalo said.

    A non-governmental organisation, Centre for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution (CHRCR), berated government over the act.

    In a statement in Lokoja, Kogi State and signed by its Executive Director, Idris Miliki Abdul, the group described government crackdown on the media as illegal.

    It said: “It is worrisome that despite the defence and reason given by the military spokesperson that they are acting on intelligent information on security issues, no evidence of such has been identified during these unwarranted molestations and harassment of media establishments and personnel. We view this as impunity of the highest order in a democratic dispensation. We condemn this as an uncivilised attitude and oppressive tendencies.”

    It urged the authorities to stop to further harassment of the media, which he said must seek legal redress.

    The Yoruba Ronu Leadership Forum (YRLF) also chided the military for the onslaught on the media.

    A statement by its General Secretary Akin Malaolu, said:

    “The military’s war with the press is an egregious nonsense that blows no good to our democracy and will not serve any good purpose. The origin of this invasion is not far-fetched going by recent actions to muffle the voices of #BringBackOurGirls campaigners; the Joseph Mbu bellicose posture and the warning by Marilyn Ogar, the SSS spokesperson to those who have reasons to complain about the government, were all done to make Nigerians and our foreign friends forget all about rescuing the over 200 girls from the hands of Boko Haram.

    This, however, cannot be compelled by brigandage, but can only be done with common sense to bring back our girls and win the war against the insurgents. We, however, wish that President Goodluck Jonathan retraced his steps from this wrong turn in the interest of the nation.

  • NLC to Jonathan: investigate security operations in Northeast

    NLC to Jonathan: investigate security operations in Northeast

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has asked President Goodluck Jonathan to investigate security operations in the Northeast.

    The congress urged the National Assembly to probe the utilisation of the financial allocations to the military.

    NLC President Abdalwahed Omar, who spoke in a statement yesterday, said the murder of the Emir of Gwoza, Idris Timta, has exposed the soft underbelly of the operations.

    According to him, NLC is worried that despite huge resource allocations, security remains a serious challenge in Nigeria.

    He said: “We call on President Goodluck Jonathan to institute a full scale, transparent, thorough and unbiased investigation on the activities and challenges of our security forces, especially in the Northeast.

    He said it was worrisome that these attacks were increasing even with the announcement that N130billion had been spent on security.

    NLC said the ease and precision with which these attacks were carried out was worrisome and unjustifiable.

    Omar wondered that if   traditional rulers could be attacked casually, what would be the fate of ordinary citizens?

    The statement reads:  “For us, we believe the authorities need to demonstrate a high level of  commitment to safety of lives and property in the country, especially in the North East.

    “The Federal Government should investigate the activities of security operatives, including military personnel.

    “We reiterate our consistent call for proper equipping and morale-boosting measures for military personnel.

    “It is a national embarrassment that the kidnap Chibok girls are yet to be rescued even as multinational interests in the rescue operations increase. “

    “That these children are yet to be rescued and delivered  to their parents questions the commitment and credibility of those saddled with the search and rescue operation and negatively impacts on our national image.

    “We are confident that our security agencies, including the military, can effectively route out the insurgents if well equipped and motivated.

    “After all, these same personnel not only rendered a good account of themselves in foreign operations, they played a decisive role in ending conflicts in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mali, etc.

    “Although this war is slightly different, we are concerned that these same forces are finding it difficult to confront insurgency back home.

    “We condole with the family of the Emir of Gwoza and thousands of other families iwho are bereaved as a result of this insurgency.”

     

  • Ambush on May Day

    Ambush on May Day

    May 1 or May Day of every year is a day set aside all over the world to celebrate the toiling and suffering workers who bear the brunt of sustaining global economy. Different countries have their unique styles of celebrating the day. In Nigeria, the tradition is a public holiday when workers congregate to undertake official march past and other forms of pageantry.

    So, ordinarily, this year’s Workers’ Day, which was marked in Nigeria last Wednesday, followed the same old tradition. At the Eagle Square, Abuja, where President, Goodluck Jonathan, was physically present, the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, seized the opportunity presented by the occasion, to rub it in on the government that “unbridled political interests were hampering the war against terrorism”. It lamented that “despite enormous resources voted into maintaining security, the fight against terror has been far from being won partly due to the various conflicting political interests in the country”.

    In his address, Abdulwaheed Omar, the NLC President said, “In spite of government’s effort, the situation in the North-east is deteriorating. The initial gains of emergency rule clearly have been lost and the momentum squandered. Indeed, the choice of target, regularity of strikes, weapons used, co-ordination and sophistication of their operations make them not only the leading group to dread. We feel seriously concerned about the state of the nation’s security infrastructure”. According to Omar,   “It is immoral to play politics with the lives of the people. We are almost certain that if anyone was left in doubt about the universality of this war, the Nyayan bomb blast erased all of that”.

    Barely few hours after, as if to prove that they can never be cowed no matter what, the Boko Haram terrorists were on their devilish best as they hid under the approaching cover of darkness to, once more, detonate another lethal ware right inside the Nyayan Motor Park in Abuja. The first twin-bomb attack in the nation’s capital after about two years lull occurred at the same park in the early morning of April 14. The latest attack is coming on the heels of mass protests that have engulfed the country in the wake of the abduction of more than 240 schoolgirls from Chibok, Borno State, North-east of Nigeria.

    Recently, a surfeit of protests took over the nation’s landscape. From Chibok to Abuja, Lagos, Ilorin, Kano, Ibadan and other major cities, women in their hundreds brandishing leaves took to the streets to register their discomfort over what their leaders termed “government’s lethargic approach” to this nagging issue of mass abduction of innocent school children who were writing their final examinations. The women are right. So also are all Nigerians united in the clamour to free these school children from their captors and end the terrible nightmare their parents, siblings and loved ones are currently experiencing. But that is easier said than done. The ease, frequency and devastations of these terrorists’ attacks on hapless and defenceless Nigerians are creating more than enough worries in the country and in the global community.

    Let us look at the scenario like this. At the May Day celebrations in Abuja, the President had said that those who participated in the Nyayan bomb blast on April 14 would not escape justice. The same day, another devastating bomb blast erupted right inside the same motor park. What the terrorists simply demonstrated by this was that the President could continue to threaten hell and brimstone, while, they, in turn, would always have their way anytime, anywhere.

    A few days to the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls, Abubakar Shekau, the leader of the Boko Haram terrorists had, in a video broadcast, confidently told a bewildered world that his agents were everywhere, including Abuja, ready to strike whenever the call for satanic exploits come calling. A few days after, his agents struck in Nyayan Park, killing about 80 people while close to 200 were either injured, some seriously, or maimed for life. That same day, his agents swooped on Chibok and forcefully made a way with more than 240 school children. Again, now, they have struck at the same spot in Abuja. This is a national embarrassment, a calamity of unquantifiable magnitude.

    The latest Nyayan bomb attack is eliciting various reactions from the government and other stakeholders, including, of course, the native settlers of Nyayan who can safely be referred to as the land owners. In the wake of the attack last week, a spokesman for the community expressed the frustration of the people over the spate of bomb attacks in the community in recent times and threatened that the community would mobilise and storm the National Assembly to register their disgust if nothing was done urgently to restore normalcy to the area.

    The threat by the Nyayan community underscores the general feeling of bewilderment in the country over the inability of the security agencies to stem the growing tide of killings. Perhaps, it was to assuage the feelings of the populace that the government held an expanded security meeting in Abuja last week. A fall-out of the meeting was the setting-up of a fact-finding committee headed by Brig General Ibrahim Sabo. The committee is saddled with the responsibility of providing the government with reliable information on the whereabouts of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls.

    The choice of Sabo, ex-boss of the dreaded Directorate of Military Intelligence, DMI, during the late General Sani Abacha’s Gestapo-like military dictatorship, is quite understandable. Under his watch as DMI boss, Sabo was like the lord of the Manor. At the beginning of the current Boko Haram crisis, suspicions were rife that a renegade group of the Abacha goons might have had a hand in the crisis in order to draw attention to them. This may or may not be true. But according to a Yoruba proverb: “Omo ina la n ran sina”, meaning “to get at a wild fire, you need to go through a lesser fire”.

    Without mincing words, the latest barrage of explosions in Abuja appears to be the handiwork of fifth columnists bent on destabilising the country through the instrumentality of chaos. In a speech some years ago, the President had alluded to the fact that the Boko Haram terrorism is a cankerworm that has spread its tentacles everywhere – in the government, security agencies and other places. The President may have exonerated his cabinet in his last Sunday’s media chat, but with all that are now happening; it is most certainly that palpable disloyalty exists among the President’s aides and within the security agencies.

    Perhaps, the time has now come for the President to embark on a general house cleaning in order to save him from consistent embarrassment and save the poor, innocent Nigerians who are daily being gruesomely massacred from avoidable deaths. Like the late Chinua Achebe said in his book, A Man of the People, “the thieves have taken enough for the owners to notice”. If I may apply this most appropriately in this context, the Boko Haram terrorists, their sponsors and or collaborators, have done incalculable harm to the country and humanity, so much that their  temerity should now be stopped by all available means possible.

    This is no time to engage in unnecessary finger-pointing; we have all failed this country. It is as if we are bereft of leaders in this part of the world, as everybody with the least opportunity to be in government now scampers for the filthy lucre rather than provide purposeful leadership designed to extricate the country from its present moral and socio-economic miasma. We can only defeat these terrorists if we all come together and say “enough is enough!” Without this, our children, our brethren, our generation and the entire country will be the worse for it. Nigeria has the potential to be great but this God-given opportunity is being frittered away on the altar of corruption and avarice. We have the manpower, the natural resources and everything to make us great, but our country seems to be operating a plethora of misplaced priorities.