TWENTY-FOUR hours ago, Nigerian workers joined the rest of the world in euphoria of the year 2020.

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Umbrella body for senior workers in the country, Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, looked back into the outgone year and concluded that 2019 was a particularly tough year for workers in Nigeria.

President of TUC, Quadri Olaleye, while welcoming workers to 2020, congratulated Nigerians for their bravery, resilience and loyalty to the country in the past 365 day, notwithstanding the enormous challenges that confronted Nigerians.

According to him, “evaluating critically the organized labour’s activities in the last one year you will agree with us that it has been a rough path. There were many industrial issues but we swallowed many bitter pills to save our ailing economy.

Foremost among other issues were minimum wage and its consequential adjustment; unbridled sack of workers without redundancy negotiation, breach of collective agreement, casualisation, etc. It is important to state here that although this administration has enjoyed the co-operation of Nigerians, government at various levels have abused it, creating the impression that makes us feel we do not count.

“We commend states that have commenced the payment of the new minimum wage. It will obviously serve as a motivation to the workers. We therefore call on governors that are yet to start payment to do so without delay. In as much as we would not want to disrupt economic activities we will still not compromise the welfare of our members. A stitch in time saves nine.

“The country is in a dire strait security-wise. Thousands of innocent lives have been lost and some local government reportedly being occupied by the terrorists. Our able-bodied young men and women are now involved in kidnapping, robbery, cybercrime, ritual killing, prostitution, etc. We commend the security operatives, especially the foot soldiers in the military for staking their lives for the country.

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“The root cause of insecurity is joblessness. Over 90 per cent of those who are gainfully employed have no time for criminal activities. There are factors that encourage investment: security and obedience to the Rule of Law are part of them. Beyond that, government must create an enabling environment so that micro-economic activities can take place. Even in civilized economies the informal sector is not undermined because of their substantial contribution in economic activities. We must adopt these global best practices to save the country from her economic woes; and also secure the lives and properties of innocent citizens.”

Olaleye while insisting that TUC would remain committed to its members, he pleaded with the government to address issues of cost of governance, rising debt profile among others.

He said “The country’s debt profile is increasing at an alarming rate. International bodies, including the World Bank have severally warned on the danger of our ceaseless borrowing. Besides the $29.96 billion loan which has gained the approval of the National Assembly, reports have it that the country has so far allegedly borrowed $1 billion from African Development Bank; $1 billion Eurobond, with additional $500 million expected from Global Medium Term Note Programme.

“The N5.8 billion borrowed from China Exim Bank is hanging on the country’s neck. Over 30 per cent of the federal government’s revenue will be used for debt servicing. The question is how has these loans benefitted the ordinary masses of the country? How can we use as much as N2.7trillion to service debt and budget a paltry N2.4trillionn on expenditure? It is hard to come to terms with the position of the Information Minister, Mr. Lai Muhammed who told Nigerians that $84 billion loan is nothing to worry about. We are tempted to feel that politicians are not in tune with the plight of the masses.

“We have three arms of government that are constitutionally at par: the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary. They are supposed to check themselves but that has not been the case. Our experience so far has been an unpleasant one. We felt robbed when the Senate and House of Representatives leadership at various times showed indifference to the loans and other excesses of the Federal Government. In the year 2020 we expect the allegiance of politicians and all Nigerians to be to the country and not individuals, even if in power.”

“To further deepen our democratic process the Federal Government must as a matter of urgency respect the rule of law. We have not had it good lately. The idea of the Department of State Services keeping people in custody despite being granted bail by courts is uncalled for. The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, must wake up to his responsibilities. Total disregard to rights of people, lack of accountability, intimidation, indifference to the rule of law by some state and non-state actors alike is dangerous to the peaceful existence of the country. We must not appear unserious before the international community. We call on the Cross Rivers State government to release Agba Jalingo; Kaduna and other states keeping journalists to release them. Let due process be followed so we don’t make ourselves a laughing stock before the international community.

We are glad we are a democratic country, although lives were lost to achieve it. Unfortunately the hard-earned democracy has been abused by “strangers”. By strangers we mean people who did not play any significant role while the struggle lasted. In fact, the people we fought against seem to be still in charge.

Our kind of democracy is the most expensive anywhere in the world. The cost of governance in Nigeria is highly unreasonable, no hyperbole. Investigations have revealed that political office holders are one of the highest paid in the world. They borrow to massage the greed of a few in a country adjudged to be the poorest in the world.

The TUC will continue to advocate for good governance. Out of frustration Nigerians at every given opportunity vent their anger. The underlying factor for these reactions in most cases is hunger. How do you tell a people denied of the basics of life not to cry out? To silence the poor masses from crying some individuals are pushing fiercely to pass a “Hate Speech Bill”. The Congress will never support that Bill. Why are those behind the law perturbed if they do not have skeletons in their cupboard? We advise the people behind the obnoxious Bill to use their time to pursue a rational agenda.

In the area of free and fair elections, we are not near the global practice. Ghana, Rwanda, Egypt, etc may not be perfect in their electoral processes but ours is worst. It is disgraceful that in the 21st century election is still a ‘do-or-die’ affair in Nigeria. The last election in Kogi is a typical example of how low our politicians can go. It is even most unfortunate that the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, and some security operatives most times aid/ sit and watch while all these anomalies take place.   It is a national disgrace.

1.                         Debt

The country’s debt profile is increasing at an alarming rate. International bodies, including the World Bank have severally warned on the danger of our ceaseless borrowing. Besides the $29.96 billion loan which has gained the approval of the National Assembly, reports have it that the country has so far allegedly borrowed $1 billion from African Development Bank; $1 billion Eurobond, with additional $500 million expected from Global Medium Term Note Program. The N5.8 billion borrowed from China Exim Bank is hanging on the country’s neck. Over 30 per cent of the federal government’s revenue will be used for debt servicing.

The question is how has these loans benefitted the ordinary masses of the country? How can we use as much as N2.7tn to service debt and budget a paltry N2.4tn on expenditure? It is hard to come to terms with the position of the Information Minister, Mr. Lai Muhammed who told Nigerians that $84 billion loan is nothing to worry about. We are tempted to feel that politicians are not in tune with the plight of the masses.

We have three arms of government that are constitutionally at par: the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary. They are supposed to check themselves but that has not been the case. Our experience so far has been an unpleasant one. We felt robbed when the Senate and House of Representatives leadership at various times showed indifference to the loans and other excesses of the Federal Government. In the year 2020 we expect the allegiance of politicians and all Nigerians to be to the country and not individuals, even if in power.

iii.                        Rule of Law

To further deepen our democratic process the Federal Government must as a matter of urgency   respect the rule of law. We have not had it good lately. The idea of the Department of State Services keeping people in custody despite being granted bail by courts is uncalled for. The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, must wake up to his responsibilities. Total disregard to rights of people, lack of accountability, intimidation, indifference to the rule of law by some state and non-state actors alike is dangerous to the peaceful existence of the country. We must not appear unserious before the international community. We call on the Cross Rivers State government to release Agba Jalingo; Kaduna and other states keeping journalists to release them. Let due process be followed so we don’t make ourselves a laughing stock before the international community.

1.                        Subsidy

The dailies had it few days ago that the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency declared that the subsidy on petrol has risen to N47.5 per litre as the expected open market price of the commodity hit N180.78. Often we are told that once the Dangote’s refinery starts operation things will get better. We have our concerns: As the sixth world oil producing country we do not know the number of barrels of crude we produce daily. It is instructive to know that Danogote is a business man; and like every business person elsewhere he is in business to make profit. He will dictate the price to sell when he starts operation. It is not his fault, the government created room for that. As a mono-economy it is unfair to manage a sector that sustains the nation’s economy in such a lackadaisical matter.
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We call on President Muhammadu Buhari to as a matter of urgency relinquish his position as the Oil Minister. A technocrat with consummate know-how should be allowed to man the industry for efficiency and effectiveness. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) cannot continue to be the ATM of a privileged few and their cronies.

Vanguard