LET me begin by saluting the leadership and the entire members of the Nigeria Labour Congress on the historic celebration of May Day rally.

I salute the courage and determination of the NLC leadership in the struggle for the approval of a new minimum wage. It would be recalled that the struggle for a new Minimum Wage Act ended on March 28, 2011 with the signing into law the N18000 minimum wage after it was passed by the National Assembly.

However, I want to challenge the NLC leadership not to rest on their oars yet, as the state governors who could not come out boldly against the implementation of the new minimum wage because of their fears of losing elections may now voice out their resentment now that elections are over.

It may take a determined struggle of labour such as rallies and strikes to win the struggle. State governments that are forced to implement the new minimum wage may also fight back by attacking the living standard of workers by increasing taxation, introduction of obnoxious increment in school fees as well as hiking the price tags of other social services rendered by the state.

The rising spate of inflation and cost of living may also render the new minimum wage unessential and superfluous.

Therefore, Labour must not only struggle for the implementation of the N18,000 minimum wage across the federation and by the private sector, but struggle for a living wage that will be increased by rate of rising inflation. Even with that, it is not plausible in the long run to have the same governments who have been attacking the rights of the students and the working people to remain in power and expect the gains or concessions won to remain without being eroded.

The pathetic situation of the last 12 years of civil rule in the country has, once again, shown the necessity to create and build a mass-based working class political party that can genuinely champion the interests of the working and the toiling masses.

In 1999, there were huge expectations among the masses that the end of the military rule would bring improvements in living and working conditions.

But 12 years after, the hope has largely been dashed. Not only has there been no improvement in living standards, the economic and political situation have considerably deteriorated. Neither the successive PDP administration at the centre nor the ACN, APGA, ANPP, LP state and local governments have been able to implement any serious programme that can alleviate the enormous problems confronting the masses in terms of poor income, mass unemployment, poor housing, insecurity of lives among others.

In the real sense of the word, hunger, unemployment, crimes have been on the increase; terrorism has pathetically become a household name in Nigeria and bombing have since been introduced.

If there is any lesson one can learn from the just concluded general elections that took place across the country,  it was that the Nigerian masses are seriously searching for a credible leader who will not see governance as a business as usual. In their large numbers, they troop out to express themselves through their vote.

But looking at the colourations of the political parties that exist, and the antecedents of the politicians that contested for the elections, it is obvious that none of these elected leaders will ever deliver the much expected ‘dividends of democracy’.

So, with the just concluded elections there is urgent need for the establishment of a genuine working class political party which will serve as a political alternative to the monumental rot that has always been the traditional watchword of political leadership in the country.

Take the economy as an example. The Jonathan regime and all the state governors irrespective of their party affiliations have continued to implement the neo-liberal policies of privatization of public assets and commercialization of social services such as education, housing, etc, which only succeeded in putting public money in the hands of already rich private individuals. All the political parties, without any exception, subscribe totally to this capitalist philosophy.

It was in a bid to establish a political party that would be radically different from other parties in terms of ideology that led to the establishment of a Labour Party in the first instance. But, unfortunately, Labour Party can today be classified among the parties that have been hijacked by highly influential and money-bag politicians.

The Labour Party which the Nigeria Labour Congress helped form, has enormous capacity to become a fighting organ and political platform of workers and the down-trodden.

Mr.  STEPHENADEWALE , a student,wrote from University of Ife, Osun State.