Celebrating a day like the International Labour Day, also known as Worker’s Day, in a country like Nigeria has become an inconsequential routine that has no real bearing on the development of the nation.
Gathering workers from all walks of life under the hot sun with several performances of dancing, choreography, music performances and, of course, a series of lectures on governance, politics, the economy and so on has become a yearly ritual performance every first day in May. To date, this ritual never occasions a renaissance in the Nigerian labour market structure. Instead, it worsens.
This year’s celebration isn’t a departure from the norm and the focus of discussion in the various states, where May Day was observed, was on governance, politics and the economy, as usual. This time, however, especially as the election year draws nearer, there was more stress over the role of workers in the electioneering process and how workers’ votes could make a difference in the emergence of a choice candidate for president.
What could be considered a worthwhile Worker’s Day celebration when the labour market situation and indeed, the overall economic environment in the country is in turmoil? At the end of each rally, every worker returns home to his or her reality: low-paying jobs, backlogs of unpaid salaries and pensions and the recurring strike actions that follow at various levels, poor and toxic work environment, rising food and energy costs, receding real income levels, insecurity, unemployment and the ensuing overdependence effect on the working class, and so on. With all these problems, which become worse as each year passes by, there seems to be no need for a celebration but rather a reflection on the state of the nation and a desire to enforce a change by all means.
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More pathetic is the narrative thrown carelessly into the air by some leaders in the country which suggests the supposed passive role Nigerian workers play in politics by not coming out en masse to vote during election periods. During the 2022 Lagos May Day rally, for instance, the president of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) of Nigeria, Quadri Olaleye, decried the inactive role played by Nigerian workers in past general elections. In his address, he emphasised that Nigerian workers are partly responsible for the “pitiable condition the workers have found themselves, especially in the area of minimum wage implementation”.
Olaleye further revealed that the union has plans underway to mobilise workers across the country to fully participate in the general elections, which come up in 2023 to support the election of good leaders that will change the course of the nation’s development.
However, the TUC boss’ statement appears to be quite insensitive to the plight of the average Nigerian worker whose social and economic condition may not provide enough room to pursue secondary targets in the face of a highly inept system that is deeply rooted in corruption, nepotism and wickedness. Yes, when food, good healthcare, quality and affordable education and decent shelter have not been adequately accessed, queuing in long lines under harsh sunny weather with no sufficient security provided at the polls to vote for a privileged candidate whose choice of candidacy is marred by political oligarchy is a sheer waste of precious time and energy.
This country runs on a system where two major candidates from the most popular parties are presented, and now becomes the choice between which 200 million Nigerians may decide who rules the nation for the next four to five years. Usually, Nigerians are not given the opportunity to contest on a level playing field and have an array of choices among diverse credible options. For example, selling the presidential ticket between N40 million to N100 million seems like a well-planned comedic way to exclude more credible, honest and hard-working Nigerians from contesting the presidential elections.
Hence, publicly wielding the personal voters’ card and labelling it as the people’s power of choice is not sufficient; that choice has been stolen from Nigerians right from the point of placing a monetary embargo on the campaign intention process for the various public positions.
Therefore, Olaleye’s statement about the worker’s part fault in the creation of a bad government is unfair and should be not be taken seriously.
Nigerian workers must unite in the fight against bad governance and poor conditions of labour in the country. This can be done through a concerted effort to frustrate any ill move made by the ruling class to subjugate the masses through biased policies and financial bullying. All trade and labour unions in the country should connive to act simultaneously without relenting. Also, the private sector and non-governmental organisations should support union workers’ actions to mitigate the extreme but temporary harshness of the collective resolve against the government’s star-crossed decisions, which most times are not in the favour of the masses.
