The Strike: Trade Unions as Fifth Columnists
By Rotimi Adeosun
Those that did not support President Tinubu's election are jubilating, even on social media, that Labor Party's Joe Ajaero has, yet again (for the 4th time since Tinubu assumed power) successfully brought the country almost to a standstill.
Four times since May 29 last year!
Hardly any time for the policies the government put in place to arrest the country's sure descent into bankruptcy and failed nation statehood to come to fruition!
Only that this time, he has successfully taken down the national electricity grid, with the cascading potential of taking down oil production, fuel supply and the entire banking system.
The biggest sufferers from the withdrawal/restructuring of the fuel subsidy are Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Benin and Togo. Those were the countries to which our tankers and boats were illegally exporting petroleum, subsidized greatly with the money we were borrowing.
The withdrawal of subsidy has meant that it is no longer profitable to smuggle petrol into those countries. If you follow the news from Niger Republic, Chad and Benin Republic, the sharp increase in petrol cost and the concomitant increases in costs of foods and other items have led to gnashing of teeth and desperation.
If you are a leader in any of those countries, won't try to topple the government in the country that's constricting your windpipe and suffocating you?
Short of invading with your military, you would find sufficiently unpatriotic Nigerians - those that have serious axes to grind with their government - (there's plenty of them) who are in positions of significant influence, and witting or unwitting recruit them to subvert their country.
Who is to say that our neighboring countries (or other foreign enemies of Nigeria) that have been worse hit by the removal of oil subsidy or other actions of our government have not surreptitiously recruited some of these union leaders as fifth columnists?
This is where we are!
This is no longer your regular trade union activism.
This is concerted, coordinated, deliberate efforts by those that lost out in the last presidential election to topple this government.
They failed with their attempts at inciting the military. Now they are trying to incite the populace.
N494,000 as minimum wage in Nigeria?
Just thinking of it alone - just asking for N494,000 minimum wage alone is nothing but pure sabotage - sabotage of the presidency and sabotage of the country.
Then blanketing the whole country with darkness by shutting down an already epileptic supply of electricity; shutting down hospitals - hospitals! How many government employees, members of the NLC too, have died because their hospitals had no electricity yesterday?
Are there no lines that labor unions will not cross?
Do we have national security entities that we protect most brutally no matter the persons or groups of persons that threaten them?
Or is everything fair game for every irresponsible labor union?
Certain professions should be prohibited by law from embarking on industrial actions. This is not a draconian suggestion. It is the case in all so-called developed and developing nations. The military, all gun-wielding law enforcement agencies, which include Immigrations, Customs, Drug Enforcement agencies, Central Bank officials, Electricity generation and distribution workers, Water supply workers etc. are prohibited from embarking on industrial actions in most countries of the world.
Where not specifically written into law, it is generally understood by everyone that if you take any of those jobs, you can't go on organized, group strike actions. You may be able to resign your employment according to the terms of your employment though.
If we want to be a stable and great nation, we should enact laws that automatically proscribe any union of workers falling under the national security group that goes on strike. Leaders of such groups should be subject to prosecution for undermining the nation's security through sabotage.
Why is a labor leader in Nigeria seemingly more powerful than the national assembly and presidency voted into office by the people of the nation?
This is confounding!
How many times have these labor unions embarked on strike actions in the states that still haven't honored the current minimum wage and are still owing pensions? The labor unions have state chapters!
It is clear that this is an attempt to make the country ungovernable.
It is an attempt to further taint the Tinubu/APC Federal government and make it unreelectable in 2027.
It is an attempt to pave the way for Peter Obi in 2027.
After his Yes Daddy audio, the covert attempt to incinerate the country with a religious war, and the deliberate "exportation" of sympathetic voters from the Southeast to Lagos, I have no illusions about how far Peter Obi will go to wrest the presidency.
If the Tinubu administration doesn't know how to fix this labor unions' problem, it should kuku resign and hand over to Peter Obi now.
Because at this rate, we'll have 12 more such debilitating national strike actions in what remains of Tinubu's first term - which might be his only term!
I will not be any yeye politically correct and avoid naming names. I am Chief Awikonko Loju Oloro of Ibadan.
These are some of the arrowheads of the current strike:
Joe Ajaero - NLC
Festus Osifo - TUC
What are their political affiliations? ObIDIOCY.
Know them. Remember them.
Ko je bo se je.
No Doxology this morning.
PS: When the National Assembly members appropriate for themselves so much money, despite the prevailing harsh economic situation in the country and they refuse to accede to all belt-tightening requests, it is hard to convince GL-01 worker to not demand N494,000 as minimum wage. Our senators are more irresponsible than our labor leaders.
Pix: Joe Ajaero (arrowed) with Peter Obi at a rally during the last campaign. Let Tinubu haters reading this show me his picture with ANY OTHER presidential candidate.
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