IBB's Dubious Transition Destroyed The Labour Movement...Ex INEC Chair Jega


Former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega has blamed former head of state, Ibrahim Babangida for destroying the nation’s labour movement, including its attempts to play a critical role in politics.

He also advised that labour movement’s involvement in governance globally, especially in Nigeria, should be to the extent that the interest of the worker was protected.

Jega, who delivered a paper, titled, “Labour, Politics and Governance in Nigeria,” at the 40th anniversary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Abuja, Monday, singled out Babangida’s administration for using divide and rule tactics as well as eventual ban to destabilise the labour movement.

He described the aborted transition programme midwifed by the ex-military junta as dubious, noting that the banning of 13 political parties by Babangida in 1988/89; the Nigeria Labour Party formed by the NLC inclusive, was a major setback for the movement’s efforts at participating in political governance.

“However, the regime banned all the parties and created the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and National Republican Convention (NRC). Between 1990 and 1998, the military rulers succeeded in clamping down the NLC, infusing divide and rule within its ranks, and destabilising it, because it had grown in influence, in alliance with academic staff and students’ unions and other pro-democracy and civil society organisations; mounting effective opposition to the military regime from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s.

“Indeed, the NLC was banned between 1994 and 1998, and its offices occupied by an administrator appointed by the military, through which the complete destabilisation of the labour movement was achieved; and from which it took many years to begin to recover.

“The Labour movement’s interest in governance globally and in Nigeria in particular, indeed, should be the interest of the working people; it is not merely in fielding candidates for political offices through electoral politics”, Jega stated.

According to him, the primary interest should be not only who presides over policy formulation and implementation, but also on how politics are conceptualized, how they are implemented and how beneficial they are for the Nigerian electorates, the voters generally and in particular, how they address the fundamental needs and aspirations of the working people of the country.

He said the Labour movement needed to constantly pay attention to who is being elected and the process through which they are being elected and once elected, the process through which they conduct the business of governance and the outcomes as they impact on the citizens.

He further urged the Labour movement and the working people of Nigeria to intensify participation in the political and governance arenas; even while they work towards forming an effective party formation for electoral contestations and engagement.

The former INEC boss said “workers must be mobilized to be engaged in this with a view to increasing and improving the integrity of the process. From advocacy and support for electoral reforms, to promoting and defending the autonomy and independence of the election management body.

“Workers must be mobilized to be engaged in policy and legislative advocacy and in putting pressure on elected executive and representatives to be responsible single and Responsive t the need and aspirations of the citizens. Labour movement need to play a leading role in this in partnership with credible civil society organizations. Doggedness, assertiveness and proactiveness are necessary for success.

“The Labour movement must not relent on engaging, dialoguing, negotiating with and pressuring economic actors to accommodate and cater for the interest of workers in all fundamental aspects”.

Workers he said, have a fundamental right individually or collectively to either join, support or for their own political party to advance their collective interests and aspirations as workers and as citizens, adding however that Labour leaders have an obligation to dispassionately study the context, weigh the pros and cons, act responsively and arrive at the best option possible.

“Those who come to equity must come with clean hands. Workers need a political platform; Labour leaders must create them with integrity, operate them on democratic principles and core values of correctiveness, transparency, accountability, selflessness and credible leadership cadre. Nothing less would attract the support and active involvement of the Nigerian working people.

“Nigeria workers deserve better than what has been offered to them so far as a political platform for engagement in electoral politics”.

In his remarks, Chairman of the occasion and former Edo state Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, urged Nigerian workers to participate in politics including seeking elective, legislative and executive positions at all levels.

He noted that rigging of elections had been on the increase because of poor participation by the critical mass.

Oshiomhole said “Many of our politicians simply lack the capacity to engage the people, which explain; why rigging has continued to prosper. A system can only continue to flourish only to the extent that those who are negatively affected by that system choose to condone it. The day men and women rise in unison to challenge an oppressive order that will be the beginning of the end of that order. I also know that there will be no day when men and women who are oppressed will agree to fight against oppression. If it is one man that believes that there should be a fight, let him stand up and be counted because as he moves on, somebody else might join and over time, a movement is formed.

“The challenge of leadership is to inspire civil confidence that things are possible. I say to people that as far as a factory worker who has worked in the most subordinated position can be a governor, those of you who have better background can be president of this country.”

CKN NEWS

Chris Kehinde Nwandu is the Editor In Chief of CKNNEWS || He is a Law graduate and an Alumnus of Lagos State University, Lead City University Ibadan and Nigerian Institute Of Journalism || With over 2 decades practice in Journalism, PR and Advertising, he is a member of several Professional bodies within and outside Nigeria || Member: Institute Of Chartered Arbitrators ( UK ) || Member : Institute of Chartered Mediators And Conciliation || Member : Nigerian Institute Of Public Relations || Member : Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria || Fellow : Institute of Personality Development And Customer Relationship Management || Member and Chairman Board Of Trustees: Guild Of Professional Bloggers of Nigeria

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