NLC STRIKE: QUESTIONS FOR THE DISCERNING MINDS

By

Shehu Bashir Esq

Nigeria political space is a complex one, and the complexity comes with so much mysteries. You cannot understand the mysteries enough unless you think with the application of your experience and intellectual acumen. Social factor, religious bias, economic interest may make you think the wrong way unless your heart is filled the gas of patriotism

Sometimes, it can be frustrating to even imagine how those in positions of authority think and handle the state of affairs of Nigerians. We are rarely taken into consideration, in good conscience, in what they do and how they do that, it’s all about their interests, known and unknown.

In this country, the tangling of the complexities among entities for the known and unknown motives will baffle you to wonder why things are done in the way they are done and how they are done in that way. On the surface, you may think and see the ordinary but when you look with a microscopic gazing, you will realize that in that white skin lies wide eczema.

Let me break it down for the discerning minds –

1) The federal government has been struggling to “liberate” the Local Government Councils, LGAs, from the hegemonic control of state governors. This has been on for years without any chance of success until the recent step taken by federal government.

2)The National Assembly has been finding it difficult to legislate on the proposed amendment to the Constitution, to have that full local government autonomy, simply so because many of the members of the NASS are proteges of the state governors.

3) The Federal Government, getting frustrated by the NASS incapacity to do the needful went to Judiciary (the last hope of common man) through the Supreme Court to seek for the interpretation of the Constitution on local government administration and to seek for declaration that local government is not and cannot be an appendage of the state government, therefore, seeking for local government autonomy.

4) There have been little or no agitation by the NLC to confront the state governors on local government autonomy same as the NLC has not made it a priority to compel the state government to also consider the implementation of it’s demands as it is asking of the federal government. The demands no doubt will and should ordinarily be applicable to state workers too.

5) Meanwhile, Supreme Court has fixed 13th June, 2024 for the hearing on the suit between the federal government and state governments on the determination of local government autonomy, among other reliefs sought by the federal government.

6) Boom! Without the allowable notice of intention to embark on a strike, which should be atleast 14 days, the NLC/TUC suddenly declared an impromptu “indefinite” nationwide strike, abruptly shutting down the system.

7) This is even coming with brazen disregard for Nigerian students who are writing SSCE Exams and the Muslims that will be celebrating Sallah festival in few days. This is like attempting to solving a problem while creating more bigger problems.

8) Strike action is a strategic tool all over the world to convince the government or any employer of labour to enter back into negotiations and concede to worker’s demands. In negotiations, neither party can have it’s ways to the fullest, it is always a flexibility of give and take and not the rigidity of winner takes it all.

9) Therefore, strike cannot and should never be a mean for economic destruction, sabotage and threat to national security. It is pertinent to ask what value does it add to labour struggle and ethics of unionism that the national grid (that provides electricity to millions of Nigerians) is shut down by the workers, thereby increasing the tension, hardships and causing more harms to the nation’s economic health?

Isn’t it high time the economic lifeline of Nigerians is taken away from the hands of the jokers who play boogie-boogie with it?

THE QUESTIONS ARE?

I) Why are the duo of NLC and TUC in a hurry to declare a strike when negotiations are still ongoing?

II) Is there no timeline for conclusion of all negotiations to warrant withdrawal from such negotiations before an industrial action can be declared by the Labour Union? Atleast, that should have been part of the condition for negotiations before they started the negotiations at all in the first place?.

III) If no mischief is intended, why can’t the NLC/TUC wait atleast till after the conclusion of the exams of innocent school children and celebration of Sallah before they embark on this strike?

IV) Who are the NLC and TUC working for in truth and in good conscience? Whose interest are they truly protecting?

V) Is there a secondary but undisclosed motive behind this particular strike that these two unions have not told us?

VI) Is this strike subtly meant to frustrate the case before the Supreme Court on local government autonomy brought against the state governments by the federal government? Please, whose is clapping for who and who is clamping down on who?

VII) Are the current leadership of NLC and TUC lost in strategies to engage in constructive and effective labour negotiation without over using their last weapon – strike?

VIII) Why would anyone attempt to shut down the national grid to make a strike effective? Is there any morbid intention on the part of the Labour Union leadership to throw the country into chaos?

I have raised valid questions that may not necessarily need express answers or that may never be answered. It is just to raise the curiosity of those who can think deep and understand much better why we are where we are right now.

The truth is, if this strike is not called off or suspended before 13th of June or if it goes beyond 17th of June, just know that “snake don get hands for inside it’s belly”.

I must sound this caveat that this is not an attempt to exonerate the federal government of it’s inadequacies in handling labour matters effectively and engaging in proper accountability in governance. On the contrary, it is an attempt to put everyone on the alert that decisions and actions of those representing us in various affairs of governance may not always tell us the entire truth behind their true intentions. It is left for Nigerians to determine.

I will submit that the verdict (on answer to my questions) should be for those who want to make things better. Nigeria is all ours and we cannot afford to destroy it by any element of conspiracy.

GOD IS HERE