INEC Preparations
We call on INEC to take a cue from the 2015 elections, which was acclaimed to be the most credible, fair and free process in our electoral history, to strengthen its preparations towards subsequent elections including the 2019 general elections by proper adaptation to technology given the challenges of e-voting and the use of Smart Card Readers. The electoral body must also perfect its logistics arrangements to ensure that electoral materials are delivered on time, commence the continuous voters registration exercise, intensify voters’ education and stakeholder’s consultations for adequate enlightenment of the citizenry.
Security and Chibok Girls
We shall use this celebration to congratulate the government and people of Nigeria on the successes recorded in the fight against terrorism and the gradual return of normalcy to the North-East of Nigeria, and the return of peace to the Niger-Delta region.
However, the victory over Boko Haram cannot be complete without the rescue unharmed of the girls. It has been three years since they were abducted in painful and complicitous circumstances.
Owing to the effort of this government, 81 of these girls have been reunited with their families or in secure locations pursuing their education. However, 195 are said to still be in captivity. We therefore, call on the government, especially Mr. President to step up the process of the rescue of the remaining girls in captivity. No demand can be said to be too much for their freedom.
Senate-Executive Face Off
Never in our recent history has a government gained so much goodwill and acceptance by the citizenry in the face of excruciating economic crisis. This seeming benevolence of the people has failed to propel the government to move faster in governance and implementing some of its policies. This unfortunate state of affairs has been partly attributed to the acrimonious relationship between the Executive and the National Assembly, especially the Senate. This ought not to be, as the ruling party, APC, controls the federal government and has a majority in the hallow chambers.
For this lack of synergy between both arms of government, the 2017 budget remains comatose in the Senate, and the screening of 27 Commissioners of INEC kept at abeyance. The implication of not passing the budget almost five months into the year translates into delay in delivering on infrastructural and political development, and will negatively impact on preparations on the electoral body in conducting upcoming elections.
Though the contention has been the rejection by the Senate of the Acting EFCC Chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, twice for confirmation and the insistence of the Federal government on his appointment, some have hinted on other motives for this bad blood. Based on facts in the public domain, the position of both arms of government is wrong-headed and does not warrant holding the nation to ransom.
While the point has been made by the Senate, we find it rather unwarranted for it to play politics with the issue and refuse to carry out its statutory functions. We call on the Senate and the Federal government to bury the hatchet to expedite the passing of the budget and the screening of the electoral officers in the interest of the nation. We also urge the APC as the ruling party to get its act together and wade into this face-off with a view to giving sustainable traction to implementation of government policies.
For democracy to work there must be synergy in the work of the three arms of government through meaningful consultations, constant communication and collaboration for the common good of the Nigerian people.
Migration Crisis
We have an ongoing migration crisis where our youth take unimaginable risks travelling from Nigeria and other West African countries across harsh terrains in the Sahara Desert and through the Mediterranean Sea upon reaching Libya in their quest for greener pastures in Europe. In the process there is a recent report of a thriving slave market on migrants of African descent, including Nigerians, passing through Libya to Europe for work. The African migrants are sold for ridiculous amounts and are held in ransom for up to 3 or more months to engage in forced labour and sexual exploitation. While mass graves have been discovered in the desert, 3,777 persons had died in 2015, 600 were officially recorded last year to have lost their lives.
Given that over 90% of our youth who undertake these hazardous and precarious journeys do so for economic reasons, our various layers of government from local government, to state and federal must see the degrading treatment of our nationals by other nations as a compelling challenge to fix our country and our economy, so that the much sought after jobs and decent living can be provided here in our country, and in the African continent. This is why we will continue to ask our various governments to deliver on their electoral promise to create millions of jobs for our teeming youthful population.
We similarly call on our government, that it must do more to impress it on other nations that our citizens must be treated with dignity, if they have to be repatriated home from destination countries. A recent feature in the Daily Trust (24th April, 2017) puts the estimated number of Nigerians in various detention camps, waiting to be deported at over 10,000.
In the same vein, we need to do more as a nation to convince the African Union to take a tougher collective stand against the maltreatment of African migrants by their European Union counterparts.
On our part as organised labour, we are taking up these issues with our counterparts in Europe and elsewhere where these inhuman treatments of our people are manifest. We have also taken it upon ourselves to start an awareness programme among our youths against the unreal belief that there is a greener pasture out there in Europe and America – that we need to necessarily work together to make our governments caring and accountable.
This is the unfortunate and ugly side of the current neo-liberal globalization in the world today: while capital is free and can be moved from one part of the world to another within minutes, labour is restricted and chained. As neo-liberal globalization also concentrates an unbelievable amount of wealth in the hands of the tiny one per cent (1%) of the population in developed (and developing) countries, this has engendered an upswing of negative nationalism in the developed societies of Europe and North America. As Nigerians, and as Africans, we as organized labour must endeavour to get our governments to protect our citizens from the double jeopardy of hostility in their home countries, while they work to take over our economies, and preventing it from working in our interest.
Xenophobic Attacks
Since our last May Day, we have witnessed at least two incidences of xenophobic attacks on Nigerians and other Africans in South Africa – in December last year and in February this year. While condemning this brother on brother attack on Nigerians, Zimbabweans, Zambians, Malawians, Sudanese and other Africans, we had called on the South African government to go beyond condemning the attacks, and investigate, prosecute and punish persons or groups that might have played any role in the mindless attacks on fellow Africans. We had contended that such a firm action would send a message that those who instigate and/or participate in xenophobic attacks would not go unpunished.
Subsequently, a delegation of our National Assembly went to South Africa to do an on the spot assessment of the situation, and met with their South Africa counterparts, government officials, the Nigeria Union of South Africa and the former President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki (who had lived in Nigeria for over 3 years in the late 70s). We hope that the Nigerian government will study their report and follow up with necessary communication with the South African government to ensure that the ugly incidences of attacking fellow Africans for their unfulfilled economic aspirations and expectations are brought to an end.
We equally, on that occasion last February called on African governments to demonstrate responsive, responsible and accountable stewardship to their people as ways to mitigate the growing frustration and despondency among the ordinary people of our countries.
Recently too there have been disturbing cases of mob attacks on Africans and Nigerians in India. African diplomatic missions must firmly condemn such attacks, and let the Indian government know that if these attacks are not checked, there will be repercussions. Our government needs to come up with a swift response mechanism against any foreign government that violates the fundamental human rights of Nigerians in any part of the world.
Unwavering Support for the Cause of Western Sahara
The Nigeria Labour Congress has over the years being unshaking in its support for the independence of Western Sahara. We have in the past, had delegations to the liberated territories of Western Sahara led by a previous President and ranking officers of Congress. Since our last May Day, an important development in the Western Saharan struggle for total independence has been the return to the African Union (AU) by Morocco, which left the then Organization of African Unity (OAU) about thirty years ago in protest over the admission of Western Sahara as an independent African state into the OAU.
Morocco currently illegally colonises two thirds of the territory of Western Sahara, against the wishes of the Saharawi people. This is with the complicity and support of the United States of America and France. Now that Morocco has decided to return to the AU, Nigeria must work with other member states of the AU to get Morocco to accept the independence of the Saharawi Democratic Republic (SADR) and pull out from the occupied territories. President Buhari, during his first coming as Nigerian Head of State, stood for social justice on Western Sahara, and opposed Moroccan colonialism of a fellow African country. Thirty years afterwards, we call on the Buhari government to remain steadfast in support of the independence struggle of the Saharawi people.
Leave a Reply