By Otuedon Vincent
No doubt the demands of labour are germane but they can hardly be taken seriously by this government.
You cannot be a disorganized or compromised labour during election and become organized labour after election. You cannot eat your cake and have it.
School of thought has submitted that a good definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expect a different result. While we accuse politicians of corruption, labour union is also guilty of following corruption. Members of the organized labour were the collation officers, returning officers and other various forms of officers during the last general election and were fully paid for their job to Nigerians.
It must be understood that election is a constitutional opportunity to correct our mistakes after every four years , but we kept trading off our welfare for religion, tribe and personal greed. Little drops of corruption either by act or omission has birthed this ocean of corruption gradually drowning our nation.
Strike action has become obsolete and proven ineffective in Nigeria, labour must change its approach. If change is really the goal we must all hold our conscience accountable and responsible.
During the general election it was the same game the ruling party played to retain power at the federal level and various state played to gain and retain power. The only constant factor across the nation was labour whose principal (senior} officers conducted the elections. No politician signed election result or announced election result.
This is where the change must begin, the day labour will dare to say “NO to malpractices, NO, to corruption, NO, to business as usual, NO to following corruption” and resolve to deliver on its respective ministry, agency or parastatal mandate, that will be the day they are ready for change.
In spite of the huge investment on INEC for the general election, all the professors engaged from the various universities across the nation could tell Nigerians was “technical glitches”. Labour should get back to work and launch operation “NO MORE BUSINESS AS USUAL” and not strike action. or protest. It is character revolution to starve corruption and restore sanity and accountability.
Mr. President is face to face with opportunity of a lifetime, to leave his footprint on gold by leading the character revolution tagged “OPERATION NO MORE BUSINESS AS USUAL”.
Our national economic and security woes are largely a result of collapse of institutions of government. And the collapse is a result of successive cracks on the institutions. Even if Mr. President was corrupt, he has been implicated by the circumstances he found himself and must therefore take the lead otherwise he would have to bear the iniquities of his predecessor who have caused the various cracks and slide into the same ditch.
Institutions are strengthened by demanding delivery on their mandate. For instance, The military and the para-military have not told Nigerians their new constitutional functions since our natural resources are now safer in the hands of private securities. Arms and ammunition have infiltrated our nation, our oil and agricultural produce are flowing freely out of our borders, someone must be accountable.
Mr. President must put on the cloak of righteousness to take the lead on the character revolution, to demand institutions to deliver on their respective mandates otherwise those who have failed on their constitutional duties will be the once to frustrate his government if not overrun it. It is “OPERATION NO MORE BUSINESS AS USUAL” that will deliver both labour and the government from the masses who will be constrained by the severity of the time to react if no drastic measures are taken.
Vincent Otuedon is a human rights activist and the President of Liberty Harbingers Network
