SPEECHES are guaranteed. Workers will march, if there is security. Everything else about May 1, Labour Day, is uncertain, a reflection of the hard times that abound and the unfortunate disinterest of the authorities in the well-being of the people.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of workers gather at various venues across the country, make fiery speeches about the dearth of jobs, and the shrinking welfare of the employed. They listen to placating speeches from governments – everyone disperses waiting for the next speech session.

Things are getting worse. Government policies, poor security situation, and the ubiquitous challenges from electricity supply have combined to lower Nigeria’s attraction to investors. The result is the rise on unemployment rated as high as 25 per cent according to some statistics.

Many of those who marched at last year’s rallies are currently without jobs. The statistics are worse for youth unemployment with thousands of university graduates without jobs.

Speeches today would reflect these concerns. Two years ago, President Goodluck Jonathan won the hearts of workers when he announced at the Labour Day rally that he would sign the minimum wage bill. The labour disputes the law has spawned in different parts of the country, where authorities have refused to pay, are a few of the tensions around labour.

Hardly is there a part of the country where workers are not on one strike or the other over their welfare. Yet government appears clueless about what to do to ameliorate the situation. If you expect to hear what governments have done since last year to increase employment opportunities, all you would get are phantom figures that are improvements on rehashed ones over the years.

Where are the 11 million jobs that the Minister of Trade and Investment Mr. Olusegun Aganga promised last year? His calculation was that each of the country’s 11 million medium and small scale industries would create at least one job in 2012 to make up 11 million jobs.

Almost a year after his promise neither the loan to those industries from the World Bank nor electricity, without which the capacities of these industries are diminished, is available. Minister of Finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala also talks in general terms about job creation.

Labour Day, instead of a review of the progress made since last year, would be another round of promises, to hoodwink the public about governments’ efforts at the peoples’ welfare.

Strikes, agitations for better working conditions, the millions of the unemployed roaming the streets, and the links that security agencies make between unemployment and rising wave of crimes are good reasons for government to create jobs.

Promises have run their full course. They now sound hollow.