*Says strike action records not partial but full compliance
By BASHIR ADEFAKA
The Federal Government of Nigeria has been told why it cannot be allowed to cripple the labour movement in the country, being the only means for Nigerians to fight for themselves.
President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Festus Osifo, made this known Monday evening while featuring on an interview programme on Arise Television monitored in Lagos by The DEFENDER.
The union leader, who was confronted with a question about a standing court injunction stopping the labour unions from going on strike and that if they did they would be in contempt of court, said if anyone was to be charged for contempt of court, it must be the Attorney General of the Federation himself considering many of his disobediences of court orders in recent time.
“I think the first person that will be in the contempt of court will be the Attorney General himself because, as you could see that severally even in this dispensation, you could see that Emefiele, for example, you heard severally when court said they should release, the DSS should release….. So, we are copying what the Federal Government is doing. That is number one.
“Then number two, as at today, I don’t have a copy of that service. I saw it on television, anybody could go to television and publish anything.”
Talking more specifically, Osifo poured out questions to know which of the courts would charge the labour leaders and on what ground, saying before anyone cripple labour with any “black market” injunction, he has to arrest the entire Nigerian workers, vowing their readiness for it.
“Perhaps, which court are we talking about? Is it the same court that is being described by the Retired Justice of the Supreme Court? Who owns the court? The same government owns the court. You cannot continuously take black market injunction cripple labour. Before you do that, you have to arrest the entire Nigerian workers and we are ready for it.”
On whether, as one of the leadership, he expects to be charged to court for contempt, he said: “I don’t have any service. There is no proof of service and so if you want to charge us to court, we are here, we are not running away. Nigeria is our own, we would fight for the soul of this country.”
Reason for strike
On why labour went on strike, President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Festus Osifo said: “The reason we actually went on strike was what you reeled out at the beginning the assault on the President Nigerian Labour Congress on the 1st of November in the City of Owerri. So, when that assault was meted out to him, we reached out to all government agencies. We had a meeting on Friday which was 3rd of November calling the government to act, saying that if the government refused to act by 8th of November we were going to go on strike.
“But as a responsible institution, on 7th (of November) government failed to act. We felt may be they were so busy, may be this was not important to them. So, we met on the 7th we shifted it again by additional one week anticipating that they will come to the table but government also refused refused to act until on Thursday last week that we went to the Office of the Inspector General of Police. That was when they now said that they would go ahead and investigate the process.
“So, for us , the two labour centres are the labour movement in Nigeria. The way Nigerians see Nigerian President, that is the way we see the leaders of these institutions as the leaders of the workforce. So, whenever they are assaulted, we don’t take them lightly in any way.
“So for us, the government went to sleep. Since this thing has happened there was no single statement from any government institution. Even if the person is a baby and the person cries out, the Nigerian government, they have duty to every Nigerian citizen to be protected and they have it as obligation to respond. But they never responded until we started shouting.”
Personal matter narrative pure mischief
The DEFENDER recalls that the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, accused the labour unions of trying to make 200 million Nigerians suffer over personal matter of Comrade Joe Ajaero, who he said made a wrong judgment leading to the assault on him in Owerri, Imo State. Onanuga said Ajaero alleged planned to incite workers into what he called needless strike.”
But Osifo, during the interview, reacted saying, “No. He wasn’t there for any strike. He was there to address the workers on the next line of action. That is where the government has gotten the entire thing wrong because, Ajaero didn’t go to Labour Party office to advocate for any candidate. He didn’t go PDP office to advocate for any candidate. He was in Labour House. He was assaulted in Labour House. He was assaulted in the house of the labour. So he was not seen in any other place outside the Labour House.
“So, for government to continuously link this with politics, well, that is their own kettle of fish. But for us, the labour movement, we are protecting our president and we would continuously protect him. So if they are reading wrong, may be that is why they did not make any statement, that is their own business. But for us, we would continuously advocate for what is right.
“Yes, like what you said, we are Nigerians as well. If you go to the hospitals, most of the hospitals are functioning. That is why we also trying to manage the situation so that the downtrodden will not suffer because, if the political class are sick today, they sent their kids abroad. The downtrodden we need to send their children to the hospitals. For critical infrastructure, we are allowing our people to continuously man them so that the downtrodden Nigerians will not suffer. But we want Nigerians to understand that Joe Ajaero is not just Joe Ajaero.
“Joe Ajaero represents an institution and that institution has embarked on strike,” he said.
The anchor linking the situation to how Nigerians will be expected to respond if President of Nigeria is attacked attracted a response in affirmative from the guest, Festus Osifo, who said, “When you attack one, a symbol of an institution, you have attacked that institution. So you cannot dictate to that institution on how the institution will also react. But this blame should go to the Nigerian government because they have the period to act. Today, they started scrambling around. Why haven’t they scrambled around since this thing happened on November 1st?
“November 1st it happened. On the 3rd a statement was issued that we were going to go on strike on the 8th, we did not. On the 7th we met, we shifted by additional one week. They two weeks to act but nobody dimmed it fit to act. So, for us, we will continuously push until government institutions act.”
Not partial but full compliance
The TUC President, Festus Osifo, explained what has been reported in the mass media as partial compliance with the labour unions’ strike order on Monday, saying by the template of the leadership, the strike order had been fully complied with.
“With a single call we can call out all our workers in the oil and gas industries. We kept them there on red alert. With a single call, they will all come out and you know the implication of that. With a single call, the entire airline industry will be grounded. So, it is not with the refusal of those institutions to join. We are the ones that asked them to be on red alert.
