The leadership of Comrade Hassan Sumonu was also significant in the chronicle of the political activities of the Labour Union in the country, especially during the Second Republic.
To press its demand for a minimum wage for workers in the country, the NLC organized a national strike. It was a successful outing for the Nigerian workers because the action forced the hands of the Shagari’s government to approve a minimum wage of N125 for workers in the country, the first of such concession to workers in the history of the country. In line with the practice in most countries the government also proclaimed 1st of May every year as Workers Day or May Day in the country. Comrade Hassan Sumonu’s achievements as NLC
president were so outstanding such that after hid tenure in office he was later elected to the continental labour union, the Organisation of African Trade Union (OATU). The tenure of Adam Oshiomole as NLC president also coincided with the period when a former military head of state, Olusegun Obasanjo presided over the affairs of Nigeria as a democratically elected president. It is not an overstatement to describe the period as one of epic confrontation between the NLC and the Nigerian government for the soul of Nigeria. The Union had earlier successfully negotiated an enhanced minimum wage with the Abdulsalam administration, but the burden of implementation fell on the lap of the Obasanjo’s government.
The first point of disagreements between the government and the NLC was the former reluctance to honour the implementation of the minimum wage, the NLC had agreed with the former administration, citing limited budgetary capacity. The other issue of disagreement was the hike in the prices of petroleum products, consequent to government’s decision to withdraw subsidies. For almost half a dozen times the NLC in an attempt to force the government to change its policy called the Nigerian workers on strike against their employers, which in several cases led to office and factory closures, and near paralysis of the nation’s economy.
But unlike the previous military setting in Nigeria where the head of state was a dictator, under a civilian dispensation there are other stake-holders such as the National Assembly in the resolution of industrial disputes, when they arose. There were public hearings at the National Assembly which gave the leadership of the NLC the opportunity to bring the issues in dispute into the public domain. Since National Assembly members are conscious of the fact that they have a date to keep with the electorate to account for their stewardships at the end of their tenure, they are seen to be more likely, than the previous military leaders who have no electoral constituencies, to align themselves to the popular aspirations of their constituents. This factor makes a democratic environment more amenable to the interests of pressure groups, in addition to providing more space for them to operate. Similarly
unlike under the military regimes that were in the habit of using ouster clauses inserted in decrees to deny the judiciary of a say in industrial disputes, the industrial arbitration tribunals and courts are usually being put into maximum use, as it has been in Nigeria since the restoration of democratic government in 1999.
Assess the effectiveness of Pressure Groups in Nigeria during the Fourth Republic.
The first attempt by the various trade unions to form a central organization was in 1975 when Comrade Wahab Goodluck was elected its first and as it turned out, its last president. The attempt was ill fated as the congress broke up as soon as it was formed. Later in 1976, the late General Murtala Muhammed, then Nigeria’s head of state set up the Justice Duro Adebiyi tribunal to probe all the existing trade unions and their leaders. The tribunal’s report led to the promulgation of Decree No. 15 of 1977 which banned eleven veteran trade unionists, including Michael Imoudu and
Wahab Goodluck. The ban remained in force for ten years until the then President Babangida lifted the ban on 1st May 1987.
In 1977, the Obasanjo military administration also dissolved all the labour movements in the country. The government in their place appointed a Sole Administrator to oversee their assets, re-organise the about 1,100 unions into a manageable number and work for the formation of a new central labour organization. This was the background to the formation of the Nigeria Labour Congress on February 28, 1978. Decree No. 22, which established the congress provided for 42 industrial unions to be affiliated to it. The government also gave a take-off grant of N1 million to enable it kick-start its activities.
The Babangida regime encouraged and promoted divisions within the NLC leadership to provide a pretext for it to intervene in the congress. The Congress played into the hands of the government when the ‘social democrats group led by Takai Shamang and the ‘marxists’or progressives faction led by Ali Ciroma could
not reconcile their ideologically based differences. In the exercise of power conferred on him by the National Economic Powers Decree No. 22 of 1985, President Babangida reacted by dissolving the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress. The government needed to take this drastic step to disable a body that was perceived by it to have the organization and mass appeal that could likely stoke the fire of opposition to its planned Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) and other anti-peoples’ policies of the administration.
The government appointed Mr. Michael Ogunkoya as Sole Administrator of the central labour body. The Sole Administrator piloted the affairs of the NLC for about ten months during which the labour body was treated as a parastatal of the federal government and thus converted into a willing apologist of its policies. An election was later held and government’s vested interest led to the emergence of Comrade Pascal Bafyau as the new president of the NLC. Bafyau was at the head of the NLC until the end of Babangida’s administration, especially during the critical stage of Babangida’s transition programme, at a period when a pliant and supportive labour union was considered strategically necessary and politically expedient by the government. But the national uproar generated by the annulment of June 12 1993 presidential election and the struggle against the action as well as the clamour for its validation forced the NLC to parted ways with the government and to switch its support for the Nigerians masses who saw the June 12 1993 presidential election as a watershed in the country’s electoral and political history.
Evaluate the contributions of the Nigerian Labour Congress towards the formation of the Labour Party of Nigeria (LP)
But unlike the previous military setting in Nigeria where the head of state was a dictator, under a civilian dispensation there are other stake-holders such as the National Assembly in the resolution of industrial disputes, when they arose. There were public hearings at the National Assembly which gave the leadership of the NLC the opportunity to bring the issues in dispute into the public domain. Since National Assembly members are conscious of the fact that they have a date to keep with the electorate to account for their stewardships at the end of their tenure, they are seen to be more likely, than the previous military leaders who have no electoral constituencies, to align themselves to the popular aspirations of their constituents. This factor makes a democratic environment more amenable to the interests of pressure groups, in addition to providing more space for them to operate. Similarly
unlike under the military regimes that were in the habit of using ouster clauses inserted in decrees to deny the judiciary of a say in industrial disputes, the industrial arbitration tribunals and courts are usually being put into maximum use, as it has been in Nigeria since the restoration of democratic government in 1999.
Self-Assessment Exercise (SAE) 3.3
Assess the effectiveness of Pressure Groups in Nigeria during the Fourth Republic.
3.4 The Nigeria Labour Congress and its Political Activities
The first attempt by the various trade unions to form a central organization was in 1975 when Comrade Wahab Goodluck was elected its first and as it turned out, its last president. The attempt was ill fated as the congress broke up as soon as it was formed. Later in 1976, the late General Murtala Muhammed, then Nigeria’s head of state set up the Justice Duro Adebiyi tribunal to probe all the existing trade unions and their leaders. The tribunal’s report led to the promulgation of Decree No. 15 of 1977 which banned eleven veteran trade unionists, including Michael Imoudu and
Wahab Goodluck. The ban remained in force for ten years until the then President Babangida lifted the ban on 1st May 1987.
In 1977, the Obasanjo military administration also dissolved all the labour movements in the country. The government in their place appointed a Sole Administrator to oversee their assets, re-organise the about 1,100 unions into a manageable number and work for the formation of a new central labour organization. This was the background to the formation of the Nigeria Labour Congress on February 28, 1978. Decree No. 22, which established the congress provided for 42 industrial unions to be affiliated to it. The government also gave a take-off grant of N1 million to enable it kick-start its activities.
The Babangida regime encouraged and promoted divisions within the NLC leadership to provide a pretext for it to intervene in the congress. The Congress played into the hands of the government when the ‘social democrats group led by Takai Shamang and the ‘marxists’or progressives faction led by Ali Ciroma could
not reconcile their ideologically based differences. In the exercise of power conferred on him by the National Economic Powers Decree No. 22 of 1985, President Babangida reacted by dissolving the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress. The government needed to take this drastic step to disable a body that was perceived by it to have the organization and mass appeal that could likely stoke the fire of opposition to its planned Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) and other anti-peoples’ policies of the administration.
The government appointed Mr. Michael Ogunkoya as Sole Administrator of the central labour body. The Sole Administrator piloted the affairs of the NLC for about ten months during which the labour body was treated as a parastatal of the federal government and thus converted into a willing apologist of its policies. An election was later held and government’s vested interest led to the emergence of Comrade Pascal Bafyau as the new president of the NLC. Bafyau was at the head of the NLC until the end of Babangida’s administration, especially during the critical stage of Babangida’s transition programme, at a period when a pliant and supportive labour union was considered strategically necessary and politically expedient by the government. But the national uproar generated by the annulment of June 12 1993 presidential election and the struggle against the action as well as the clamour for its validation forced the NLC to parted ways with the government and to switch its support for the Nigerians masses who saw the June 12 1993 presidential election as a watershed in the country’s electoral and political history.
Self-Assessment Exercise (SAE) 3.4
Evaluate the contributions of the Nigerian Labour Congress towards the formation of the Labour Party of Nigeria (LP)
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