Another look at Abuja’s new transport policy

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Mohammed may have redefined every aspect of the city’s development but the chaotic transport system in the nation’s capital was a major deficit. That was before Monday June 3, 2013 when the Minister who fancies the city getting into the World’s top 20 in the near future, unveiled a new transport policy for the FCT.

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Mohammed may have redefined every aspect of the city’s development but the chaotic transport system in the nation’s capital was a major deficit. That was before Monday June 3, 2013 when the Minister who fancies the city getting into the World’s top 20 in the near future, unveiled a new transport policy for the FCT.

Central to the measure was the restriction on commercial mini buses otherwise called araba or danfo, from major highways of the Capital City areas. With the eventual introduction of the policy, hundreds of such buses were restricted to feeder routes, the area councils and satellite towns. In their place, high capacity buses and taxis were introduced to ply the major entry and exit routes and highways of the city centre as well as the major roads within the metropolis. While taxis were generally exempted from the restriction, the ubiquitous tricycles (keke) transit were similarly restricted to designated Housing Estates and satellite towns.

With the new transport policy, over 300 brand new high capacity buses were deployed. Though this number is 400 short of the 700 earmarked for this purpose, it was enough to absolve the pressure that expectedly came with the mini buses withdrawal. The few hiccups obsewrved in the past two weeks are expected to ease when the FCTA’s promise to increase the number of such buses to 600 by the end of this month materializes. Also, no fewer than 200 new taxis have been procured by the FCT Administration through the SURE-P scheme for distribution to licensed private operators on hire purchase basis.

In less than three weeks, the thousands of commuters in such routes as Nyanya through AYA to Eagle Square/Wuse Market and Giri Junction through Airport Road to City Centre have quickly settled down to a comfortable  transportation. Same goes for those that come in from Zuba Junction through ONEX (Outer Northern Expressway) to City Centre and Ring Road One connecting Wuse Market and Eagle Square. Other routes which have since bid farewell to mini buses are Gudu Market Junction through Ahmadu Bello Way to Gwarimpa, Herbert Macaulay to Utako/Jabi and Shehu Shagari Way through Federal Secretariat to Ring Road 1 Junction. At each of these routes the FCT Administration has provided service terminals at the beginning, end and intermediate locations mainly for high capacity buses and taxis.The mini-buses now terminate their operations at various interchanges on Kubwa axis, Yar’Adua Expressway and Nyanya, where they feed the high capacity buses with passengers going to the city centre.

The 350 buses to ply the city have been distributed to meet the volume of commuters in the various axes. For instance, Nyanya has 80 buses while Kubwa has 60. A bus is scheduled to depart the Nyanya, Zuba and Kubwa terminus every 3 minutes while in low traffic areas like Gudu District the buses take off every 10 minutes. Transport fares have also dropped by about 40 percent, with commuters paying fares as low as N50 for a drop while the highest fare is N150 for the farthest distances of Gwagwalada, Kuje and Zuba.

First introduced on January 14 2013, the policy was later suspended to allow for proper consultation with relevant stakeholders and to create adequate awareness among the residents. From what has been seen these past two weeks, the panel headed by Engr Ozodinobi, did not only receive the endorsement from all relevant stakeholders in the transportation business, it instilled confidence in the citizenry as well. Some of these stakeholders, like the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Self Employed Commercial Drivers Association (SECDA), National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), FCT Chapter and civil society organizations, agree that it was in the best interest of the Federal Capital City and the majority of its residents.

The advantages of the new policy include reduction of time wasted in traffic, affordable and reliable mass transit and enhanced comfort for passengers. Others include reduction of the effects of environmental pollution via emission from vehicles, enhanced safety of passengers and better control of security of drivers and passengers via biometric capturing which paves way for easy identification of transport operators and companies.

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the policy is its conformity with the city’s transportation master plan and the fact that it was designed to create wealth and employment opportunity for professional drivers in the FCT. It also opens a vista of opportunity for entrepreneurs who are interested in venturing into mass transit business. Expectations are high too that transport related crimes and criminalities in the capital city will be minimised while a new driving culture and attitudinal change will be built over time.

JAMES  KASIEMOBI writes from Abuja

Presidential dinner: Jonathan didn’t meet Amaechi for security reason-Presidency

2013-06-28 01:05:51
The Presidency on Thursday defended  the prevention of Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State from exchanging pleasantries with President Goodluck Jonathan by a security operative during dinner at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Wednesday.

It said the  incident was purely a security issue that should not be politicised,especially by opposition political parties.

The governor, who was sitting two tables away from the President, had risen to greet him but the security  operative attached to the President stopped him halfway.

 In order not to create a scene at the event that had nearly all his colleagues and two  heads of government (Joyce Banda of Malawi and Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia) in attendance, Amaechi quietly returned to his seat and waited for  about five minutes before leaving the venue.

But as  the Action Congress of Nigeria and Congress for Progressive Change berated Jonathan over  the incident, the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Dr. Ahmed Gulak,  said it was tantamount to a breach of protocol and security if Amaechi was allowed access to  his  boss  who  was already seated before the governor arrived.

Gulak  said,  “The President has a good relationship with all state governors and he meets with them regularly. The case in point is a pure security issue and it should be treated as a security issue that should not be politicised.

“The question the ACN and others who may want to politicise this issue need to ask is whether the President arrived at the venue of the dinner and was already seated before the governor arrived.

“Usual practice across the world is that once the President arrives a place, nobody whether a governor or not, is allowed entrance. That is the protocol. Even(Barack)  Obama  of the United States cannot be on his seat and a governor will be allowed to come in.

“If that was the situation in this case that the President was already on his seat,  it would have been a breach of protocol and security for any security person to allow the governor access to the President. Such a security person would have been sanctioned if he had done that.”

Wondering  why the ACN  was interested in the  matter, the presidential aide advised the opposition political parties to   “concentrate on issues concerning them and stop politicising everything.”

 The ACN  had in a statement by its  National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, condemned the action of the operative and called on Jonathan to order an immediate  probe into  it.

It said, “We are making this call because we do not believe that, in spite of the reported frosty relations between the two, President Jonathan – as the father of the nation – will lend the weight of his high office to such a demeaning action as exhibited by the presidential security personnel.

“To believe that anyone occupying the esteemed office of the President of one of Africa’s most important nations will be a party to a situation in which any security aide will wilfully fence a state chief executive from paying his respect to the President at such an open gathering will be to think the worst of the occupier of that office. That is why we have chosen not to believe that this indeed occurred, and why we are calling on Mr. President to tell Nigerians that ‘it ain’t so’ “We shudder to think of what efforts are being made – including the use of national institutions – to undermine Gov. Amaechi if the treatment reportedly meted out to him at the dinner has the approval of the powers that be. We are even more worried at what will happen to a governor from the opposition who falls out of favour with the President, if a governor from the same party as the President can be so publicly humiliated.”

ACN said it was particularly incumbent on the President to clarify the report because Amaechi, the authentic Chairman  of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum,  extended an olive branch to him  by attending the dinner, despite the fact that  he (President) was publicly supporting the losing faction of the NGF, in what was being seen as a “democratic faux pas.”

The party said the President must learn to separate politics from governance by rising above petty partisanship as he steered the affairs of state.

On its part, the Congress for Progressive Change   said it was clear to many discerning minds that “the government of President Jonathan  is being run like a mafia organisation where you have the head at the Villa.”

 “This is the kind of price we pay when we sacrifice competence on the altar of exigency,” the CPC  said through its  National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin.

The party added, “We have always said it that the way President Jonathan is running this country;  he will  run it  aground.

“No Nigerian can be proud of what is happening in a situation where nations of the world are improving their democratic credentials; we are going towards further isolation.

“A situation where a chief  executive is being blocked by security apparatus of the President, you ask yourself what hope mortals like us have under the  Jonathan government.”

Northern govs protest forces PDP to postpone convention

may have forced the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party to  postpone its special national convention  from July 20 to August 20.

This  protest, which is hinged on the fact that July 2o falls  within   the Ramadan period, has also affected the South-West congress of the party initially slated for July 11. It may now hold  between August 13 and 17.

Investigations by our correspondent in Abuja on Thursday, showed that the governors were not happy with the decision to hold the congress and the convention when the majority of the delegates  might be fasting during the period.

Apart from this, the governors were also said to have protested the composition of the leadership of the convention committee, which is made up of mostly  Christians.

For example, the chairman of the committee, Prof. Jerry Gana;   his deputy, Governor Godswill Akpabio and the Secretary, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, are all Christians.

“You can see the insensitivity of those who put the committee together and that is why we are having this type  of embarrassment and uncaring attitude on the part of the committee,” one of the Northern governors told our correspondent in  confidence in Abuja  on Thursday.

The protest by the governors was  said to have been communicated to the National Chairman of the party, Dr. Bamanga Tukur, who called an emergency meeting of the National Working Committee of the party on Wednesday.

Investigations showed that the NWC agreed to shift the convention, but no date had been picked.

Before the decision to shift the two events were reached, Tukur was said to have rushed to the Presidential Villa, where he briefed President Goodluck Jonathan on the governors’ observation.

A member of the NWC, who spoke with journalists on condition of anonymity,  said, “The NWC at its meeting is proposing August 20. This is on the understanding that the Muslim fasting will end between August 8 and 9 and therefore, the South -West  zonal congresses will take place between August 13 and 17, while the special   convention will take place on Tuesday, August 20,  2013”.

Meanwhile, the Acting National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Tony Okeke, has confirmed the cancellation of the two events.

He said, “The NWC   wishes to announce that the South-West Zonal Congresses and the Special National Convention of the party have been rescheduled in view of the Muslim Ramadan fasting.

“New dates for the South West Zonal Congresses and the Special National Convention of the party will be announced.”

At least, 20  members of the  party’s NWC had last week resigned because of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s report, which voided their elections.

 A former National Secretary of the PDP, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who was sacked a few months ago, had written the  party, saying his position was not vacant.

Oyinlola was not among the NWC members, whose elections were voided by INEC.

In spite of the former governor’s letter, the party, on Tuesday, in an advertorial announced the South-West congresses and the  special convention.

C- servants kick against deregulation of minimum wage

BY VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG

Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, ASCSN, Thursday, kicked against planned deregulation of the national minimum wage by the Senate, warning that it would lead to anarchy in the industrial relation arena and negatively affect the democratic process, if allowed to sail through.

Highlighting the flaws inherent in the Senate’s proposed amendment in which wage would be removed from the Exclusive Legislative List in the Second Schedule of the 1999 Constitution as amended and placed in the Concurrent Legislative List, ASCSN Secretary-General, Alade Bashir Lawal, in a statement, argued that such action would further impoverish workers and their dependents as many state governors would want to pay as low as N5,000 minimum wage to their workers.

ASCSN recalled that a recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, showed that about 112 million Nigerians were living below poverty line and advised the senate to focus more on how to alleviate poverty among the citizens instead of being preoccupied with how to compound their poverty.

The body contended that if wage was deregulated, it would affect related matters in item 34 on the Exclusive Legislative List in the Second Schedule of the 1999 Constitution such as labour, including trade unions, industrial relation; conditions, safety and welfare of labour; industrial disputes; prescribing a national minimum wage for the federation or any part thereof; and industrial arbitrations.

According to the statement “If these matters are deregulated, how many trade unions, how many minimum wage, how many arbitration panels, how many workmen compensation acts, how many factory acts, will emerge in the 36 States of the Federation. Since the 2011 National Minimum Wage of N18,000 per month was signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan, many State Governors have refused to implement it but prefer to be paying their workers peanuts.  Since most of the Senators were sponsored by the State Governors, it is not unlikely that they are under pressure to deregulate wage so that their principals can begin to pay paltry sums as salaries far less that the N18,000 monthly National Minimum Wage to their workers.”

“While Senators from oil producing States of Delta and Bayelsa for instance earned the same emoluments with Senators from Ekiti and Zamfara States and ditto for the Governors, the Senate have not deemed it fit to deregulate these remunerations fixed by the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission yet it is bent on deregulating N18,000 monthly National Minimum Wage for workers. We urge the Senate to reverse itself on this matter and demonstrate for once that it is not only preoccupied with legislations that benefit its members.”

32 killed in Plateau fresh mayhem

Tragedy struck again in Governor Jonah Jang’s Plateau State as about 32 persons were killed by assailants who also destroyed property worth millions.
Although the identities of the attackers are yet to be determined, there are indications that they were said to be mercenaries who were on a mission to stir another round of mayhem in the state.
Governor Jang was in Abuja for the National Economic Council meeting at the Villa when news of the attack came to him.
Residents gave different accounts of the incident but the most common account had it that the attackers just emerged at Villages of  Magama, Tolgang and Karkarshi and started entering houses.

The Chairman, Management Committee Chairman of Langtang South Local Government Council, Mr. Narman Darko, confirmed that 32 people were killed.
The state police command, headed by Mr. Chris Olakpe, confirmed the development but said it was too early to give figures of the casualty.
Olakpe said, “Only yesterday (Wednesday), we held a meeting with the Ponzhi Tarock (the paramount traditional ruler of the Tarok people found mainly in Langtang North, Langtang South and Wase LGAs of Plateau State), Emir of Wàse, and heads of security agencies and other stakeholders on the security situation particularly in the troubled parts of southern Plateau. It is unfortunate that the Langtang South violence could still occur despite the efforts at building peace through dialogue.”

Giving states power to determine wages will complicate industrial crises -TUC

A more complex labour situation is in the offing in Nigeria should the constitution be amended to give powers to the states to determine wages of their workers.
At the moment, the Federal Government reserves the sole right to fix wages of workers across the country.
However, many had condemned this on the basis of the fact that the central government lacks the knowledge of the states’ capacities to pay its determined wages.
Today, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) of Nigeria in a press statement signed by the President Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama, said the Congress is not against the debate and review of the 1999 Constitution, but noted that the move will create more industrial crises.
He said, “Especially as some states are yet to implement the new minimum wage of N18, 000 even though President Goodluck Jonathan signed it into law in March 2011, as it stands today, we still have issues with some states over the new wage structure. For instance, there had been serious crises in Plateau and Enugu states because of their refusal not to implement the law.

“The question we ask when issues of this nature arise is: do Nigerian workers and lawmakers buy from different markets? The answer is “no”. How do we send our children to school? How do we pay our rents? How do we pay our fares to work, market, church, mosque, etc or how do those who are privileged to have a car fuel it? It is wrong for politicians to attempt to toy with the destinies of Nigerian workers.”

Ndigbo: Dancing lame to a shrill presidency tune

Prior to the 2011 general election, the general belief in the political sphere was that it would be the turn of the Southeast to produce the Nigerian president in 2015. But less than two years to the next general election, the music seem to have changed? NDUBUISI ORJI writes.

The agitation for the Southeast geo-political zone to be given an opportunity to produce a president for the country is not new. In the last couple of years, the zone had repeatedly clamoured to be given an opportunity to produce a president for the country, as a way of ending the perceived age long marginalization of the Igbo nation.  This clamour is anchored on the need for equity and fair play in the polity.

Since the nation’s independence on October 1, 1960, the Southeast has led the country for a little less than six months. While the North has held power for a total of 38 years; the South west for 10 years and the South-south for three years.

At the end of military rule in 1999, prominent Igbo politicians had thrown their hats into the ring for the presidential contest.

In the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former vice president, Dr Alex Ekwueme and former governor of old Anambra State, Dr Jim Nwobodo were in the race for the party’s presidential ticket. However, both Igbo leaders lost the ticket to former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

While in the All Peoples Party (APP), former governor of Abia State, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu contested and won the party’s presidential primary, but unfortunately the APP ceded the ticket to Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi.

In the 2003 and 2007 presidential elections, there were serious agitations that the Southeast should be allowed to produce the president. As in the past, the dreams did not materialize.

Then it was taken for granted that since Nigeria is believed to be standing on a tripod, after the Yoruba have had their turn through President Obasanjo, the North through Umaru Yar’Adua, it would naturally be the turn of the South-east.  But suddenly Yar’Adua died in office, paving the way for his deputy, Jonathan to emerge president.

In the political war that raged between the North and Niger Delta prior to the 2011 presidential election over Jonathan insistence on contesting the election, the South East became the beautiful bride. Both the president’s group and the North wooed the zone with the promise that it would be its turn in 2015.

Igbo leaders were in turn torn apart by the ambition of the North and the Niger Delta. While the South east governors and the leadership of the Ohaneze Ndigbo under the leadership Prof Ralph Uwechue took sides, with the President, the South East Political Forum entered into a pact with northern leaders.

For instance, in the run up to the 2011 general election, the South East governors had declared that the zone would neither contest for the seat in 2011 nor accept the vice presidential slot.  They said the zone would support Jonathan to retain the presidency in 2015, so that the Southeast would have an opportunity to produce the president in 2019.

On the other hand, another set of Igbo leaders comprising former Vice President Alex Ekwueme, and others entered into a pact with a northern group to support the North in 2011, while the North will in return support the South east in 2015.

Recall that at the height of the crisis on whether or not Jonathan should contest the 2011 election, the North under the aegis of the Northern Leaders Political Forum had a meeting with the Southeast Consultative Forum. The meeting, which was at the instance of the Northern group, was to solicit the north in its quest to stop President Jonathan from contesting the 2011 presidential poll.

At the end of the day, the Northern and South-eastern political groups resolved that if the nation must move forward, zoning and rotation must remain as common features of the nation’s political life, with both groups  agreeing  never to work against the interest of each other.

In a communiqué issued at the end of the  meeting , with  Bashir Yusuf Ibrahim representing  the Northern Leaders Political Forum, and Chyna Iwuanyanwu for the South East Consultative Forum,  it was resolved that it became imperative  for Ndigbo to support the North  to complete the second term of late President Yar’adua, so as to pave way  for a South easterner to be president  in 2015.

Corroborating the position of the governors, Uwechue stated in a public forum prior to the 2011 presidential poll that only the emergence of a president of Igbo extraction in 2015 could compensate the South east for it’s numerous contributions to the unity and growth of Nigeria.

The former president general of Ohaneze Ndigbo who spoke at the 2011 Dr Alex Ekwueme Annual Lecture at the Federal Polytechnic Oko, Anambra State as part of the event to mark the 18th convocation of the institution had stated that zoning the presidency to the South east in 2015 would not be a favour.  He said the time for the country to have an Igbo president was ripe, given the assurance given by President Goodluck Jonathan that he would not present himself for re-election in 2015.

His words “What is most important now is for the Igbo to take their turn in the presidency. Igbos must take their turn before any ethnic region thinks of pursuing a second term. The cruel act to Ndigbo is in contrast with the support we have always given to other zones of the country,” Uwaechue said.

Ekwueme concurs. The former vice president said it was imperative for Ndigbo to take their turn in 2015 given the fact that they had not taken a shot at the presidency despite their contribution to national development.

According to him, “With the treatment the Igbo are getting in Nigeria, it is obvious that the Nigeria/Biafra war is not over. The only thing that can show it is over is for our brothers to help us achieve Igbo presidency. All hands must be on deck to make it a reality”.

With the 2015 general election less than two years away, the  goal post has shifted again.  The North and the  Niger Delta groups, which promised to support the emergence of a South east president in 2015, are singing different tunes.

Both groups  are already beating drums of war and threatening fire and brimstone if somebody from their respective zones do not emerge president in 2015. Consequently, for them, Ndigbo still have to wait much longer to produce a president for the nation.

For Niger Delta, the Igbo presidency has to wait until 2019, after the second tenure of President Jonathan.  While for the North, the project can wait until somebody from the zone has taken a shot at the presidency possibly for two terms. Though the President has not declared his intention to seek re-election, his foot soldiers  are all over the place soliciting support for his second term project.

Ironically, Igbo leaders, who entered into different alliances with either the President’s group or the North   in 2011,  and declared  that  Igbo presidency was not negotiable in 2015, are no longer keen about the project.

While some of them are now in the vanguard that the project could wait until 2019  if the incumbent president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan would be running for a second term in 2015, other are playing the ostrich.

Today, only the former governor of Abia State, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu  is actively canvassing for a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction in 2015. Recently, the former Abia governor floated a socio-political group, Njiko Igbo to drive this project and other issues affecting Ndigbo in Nigeria. Speaking as guest on “Platform”, a Radio Nigeria political programme, the former Abia State governor declared that the country cannot make real progress unless an Igbo man was elected president in 2015. “I am saying that an Igbo man should be president in 2015. It matters where the president comes from, because all segment of the society had been president. People continue letting Ndigbo down because they think we were defeated during the war, which is not true. And until an Igbo man rules this country, the country will not move anywhere,” Kalu declared. He expressed optimism that Njiko Igbo would be able to get 65-70 per cent of Ndigbo to agree on the Igbo presidency project. A former president of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Dr Dozie Ikedife believes that though the Igbo presidency is feasible in 2015, certain factors are critical to its realization.

Apart from the need for the Igbo nation to be united,  he said the thinking of the presidency is critical. Ikedife says “we must know what the Presidency is thinking: whether President Goodluck Jonathan has made a statement as to whether he wants to run in 2015 or not. You know you cannot underrate the power of incumbency. And if he is running, then the whole thing takes a different posture. I do not think that if he eventually decides to run again in 2015 that the Igbo would want to come out and oppose him in that respect. So, it should be known whether the seat is going to be vacant for new entrants or whether it is going to be somebody continuing from where he stopped.”

The major setback to this noble agitation has the lack of total commitment to the project by Igbo leaders. The other reason is the erroneous belief that the aspiration can only be attained on the platform of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Why trade unions are docile – Ejiofoh

By VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG

RECENTLY, Labour Vanguard published the first part of Comrade Sylvester Ejiofoh response to its story on takeover of trade unions by bourgeois labour leaders. Today’s edition of Labour Vanguard is the concluding part of the interview.

HOW can workers reclaim the unions from aristocrats and proprietors posing as labour leaders?

The essential thing is education, labour education and the right type of labour education. Labour education cannot be value free, while addressing the technical issues like how do you resolve grievances with employees, how do you gain concessions from employers by way of collective bargaining, etc, but collective bargaining has a class character, it has a social character. So, you do not just teach collective bargaining in the formalistic sense. You must look at its underlying factors.

Collective bargaining is essentially or to some extent, a procedure which manifests power relations. You cannot have meaningful bargaining or bargaining process that ends up in a balanced or shared gain. A weak union cannot bargain with a strong employer. A non-democratic union in which the leadership does not represent the aspirations of the rank and file members cannot bargain meaningfully.

*Comrade Sylvester Ejiofoh

Nigerian development

So, you have to use appropriate labour education, which is a combination of techniques, knowledge, skills and the context of trade union as a movement. Anything short of that, the problem will persist. It is not a phenomenon which is to a large extent, a Nigerian development. It is a global development.

There are allegations that some labour leaders conspired with  officials of the Ministry of Labour and Productivity to effect changes in their constitutions for their personal greed. What is your take on this?

Well, like a society in which anything is possible, ideally, the registrar of trade unions can only effect changes in union’s constitutions if those amendments are product of trade union conferences, and in keeping with the provision of the trade union act which provides for what trade union’s constitution should contain.

Again, there is other aspect which you must look at. When trade unions do not conform to trade union tradition, the tendency is that other elements come to play. What you may call primordial elements or cleavages like ethnicity or religious cleavages. We are lucky that these elements are not very strong in our country.

It has to do with the value system of the leaders, why trade unions emerged and how they emerged. Ideally, appointed union’s officials should emerge from working class. That is from those who were employees, and members of the unions.

If you are never a wage earner and did not start your trade union career from the shop steward or the branch level and grew up and in the process, gone to trade union classes, and enhanced your academic qualifications before you become a full time official, there is a problem, a problem of being disconnected from the expectations and behaviours of the working man and woman.

If you are employed directly from outside in which case, you came in as there is a labour market, you came as unemployed, you lack the culture of the working man and woman. But where you started your trade union career before you became full time official from the rank and file, you pay union dues and you go through appropriate labour education, you can hardly become aristocratic or bureaucratic.

When those elected too, did not pass through same mills, they have problems. Unlike politics, you know in Nigeria, you can join a party within a year of two, you can become the presidential candidate, but in trade union, ideally, the movement should be from the shop steward level.

Elected officials, who passed through that process and had the opportunity of being trained in the right manners, will not be proprietors. They will appreciate the fact that  the working man and woman who is a member of the union; is not an individual you can exploit.

What should be the life style of a labour leader?

Again, the social value of the individuals, trade union movement is not a place for poverty. Trade unions should be able to provide for their leaders but not to provide for them in sense of imitating the affluence character which characterizes the Nigerian leadership style in every respect.

A trade unionist either elected or appointed should not live in Victoria Island or Lekki Peninsular; they live in Yaba and Surulere and pay the same rent. The issue is not until you go in rags; leadership should be embodiment of simplicity, humility and modesty. Where you decide to do otherwise, you have to fund it and to fund it, mean you must do funny things including employers’ funding.

There was a statement made some years ago, by one of late politicians whom I revered very well, Chief Enahoro. He said unions should beware of subversive generosity of employers and government. Where government funds your campaigns, where government assists unions to hold conferences, is it doing it without interest, covert or overt?

When government buys union’s cars, you may say yes, it is our money. I have not objection where Federal Government or state government goes to the National Assembly and say, look, we want to assist trade union educationally and it is in the budget and debated, it is done all over the world.

Subversive generosity

So, union must be very careful of subversive generosity from employers in particular and government. The issue is, how will the ordinary worker view it, that his or her union is longer independent of the employer which is a major attribute of a trade union?

Any union which is not independent of the employer or government directly or indirectly cannot be said to be a democratic union. Definitely, he who pays the piper dictates the tune. So, you now have this aberration in the country when Nigerian trade unions are more active, more resolute under the military and a little bit care free under the so-called elected civilian authorities.

Equally, the government and employers should know that where you decide to subvert the independence of the trade unions, the reactions from the rank and file members when they find out at the time of crisis, the union cannot control them. So, both sides must know that it is not their best interest to subvert trade union independence.

So, they could ask questions on the  funding of the union.  Equally, on the part of those appointed, their salary or income should not be a secret. People can ask how come he is now driving a jeep of this dimension. I am not preaching the gospel of poverty, no. Whatever we do, we must be ideal union leaders, be modest, humble and simplistic.

– See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/06/why-trade-unions-are-docile-ejiofoh/#sthash.2XcnpFna.dpuf

Labour, NGOs strategise for dividends of democracy on June 20, 2013 at 12:30 am in Labour

By Funmi Komolafe
FOR over a decade, the office of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung has been a rallying point for non-governmental organizations. FES assignment in Nigeria has been essentially about promoting and sustaining democracy and this it has done by working with non-governmental organizations, the media, trade unions, women and other civil society groups.
It was therefore not surprising  when  a similar programme was organized to bid farewell to the former resident representative, Mr. Thomas Mattig and welcome Mrs. Seija Sturies, the first female resident representative of the FES in Nigeria.
HAVING invested so much  to assist Nigeria have a stable democracy and sustain it, it was no surprise to many that the topic discussed was “Nigeria’s Progressive Movement: How to deliver the promises of democracy”. Though, the programme was held at the Lagos office of FES, participants came in  from outside Lagos to share their thoughts with discussants. They include Professor Abubakar Momoh of the Department of Political Science, Lagos State University, Ojo,  Ms. Nma Odi , Executive Director of  BAOBAB and Dr. Sylvester Odion , lecturer, Political Science Department, Lagos State University, Ojo.

*From left: Mrs. Remi Ihejirika,FES official; former FES rep, Mr. Thomas Mattig, the new rep, Mrs.Seija Sturies and Professor Abubakar Momoh of LASU
Mr . Thomas Mattig, outgoing resident representative of FES,  set the tone for the discussion. He reminded participants that in about  three years and six months that he has been in Nigeria, FES  focused on governance, trade unions in the work place and as political actors. However, he and his organization are concerned about   Nigeria’s progressive movement and  how to deliver on the promises of democracy.
Progressives and the peoples’ expectations :
For, Ms. Nma Odi, she believes, “we are in civil rule  rather than a democracy”, because in her opinion, “ the tenets of  democracy are not there”.  She said  Nigerians expect  “quality education, quality welfare,  safety of life and property,” and all of these we don’t have.
Dr. Sylvester Odion believes there is confusion about who a progressive is. To  him, “a progressive movement can exist at the level of an idea, an organization and practical action for the majority of the people”.
Professor Abubakar Momoh defines a progressive: “ A progressive does not have to be a leftist but one who shares the virtues of uplifting and empowerment of the people. He must ascribe to certain values and ideas that must be popular and empower the people”.
He said unlike the Second Republic when progressives in all the parties worked together irrespective of party affiliation, “today, we have progressive individuals but the progressive platform has been decimated.” Professor Momoh, a leftist, said, the left was decimated during the military regime of General Babangida  as “ the struggles against the Structural Adjustment Programme made people very vulnerable. It impoverished people, so, key leftist elements were dragged into government.”
He expressed regrets that  “commitment to group has been subordinated to individuals”.  He said organized labour had been tamed since 1988 when the military forcefully took it over while the proliferation of Non- Governmental Organisations  with questionable funds had further divided the left.
In his words, “NGOism is the worst thing to happen to Nigeria”. Momoh said  “what we have is not democracy because we have no means of holding anybody accountable. Culture of impunity is the order of the day. No politicial class but political elite.” He agreed with Odion that politicians of the First and Second Republics had a vision for Nigeria.
How to get politicians to deliver on the promises of democracy: Nma Odi: “There is the need to build a movement and sustain it so we can have democracy dividends. A coalition has to make them deliver hence the need for a progressive. The civil society has to work together.
She asked rhetorically: “Where did we get it wrong  that we were unable to work together? She said the civil society groups were better when there were fewer NGOs; no progressive youths anymore”. Dr. Sylvester Odion agreed, saying “during the military dictatorship, its was the National Association of Nigerian Students ( NANS) that engaged the establishment and the status quo in Nigeria” but he too lamented that NANS has been compromised and now there are several factions. Odion believes existing political parties are “mere nomenclatures.‘ In his words, “ state governors are lording it over all parties,  the parties have no agenda, no internal democracy in all the parties hence, the goal of transformation is not possible”.
The way out :  Nma Odi suggested that “we need to work together sincerely to remind the government to deliver on the social contract with the people”.
Dr. Odion said “ we need to build organizations and  build cadres for us to reap the dividends of democracy.
Citing the Brazilian example of Da Silva Lula,  Professor Momoh said we need to build organizations. “In Nigeria , we  believe we can use any platform to get power. He dismissed the planned merger of opposition  political parties  saying, the politicians are “political nomads “  moving from one party to another only for the purpose of seeking power.
He warned “ if the opposition plays by  the rules of the PDP, they can never capture power.

New TUC President to work with NLC, others

By VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG
NEWLY elected President of  the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, Bobboi Bala Kaigama, has spoken about his determination to work with  the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and all TUC members as one family to lift up  the living standards of Nigerian workers and other underprivileged groups in the country.
In his acceptance speech  after his election as  President of the TUC  at the 9th Triennial Delegates Congress of TUC, in Abuja, Kaigama  said there were no victors and no vanquished, noting that “this victory is for all of us because the task of consolidating the lofty achievements of the past executive and lifting the Congress to the next level rests squarely on our shoulders and as such all hands must be on deck.
I must admit that in the build-up to this election, there were minor distractions which were not entirely unexpected in a democratic organization such as ours.  I believe that we have been better tutored by the experience of the campaign and are now more prepared and resolved to always stand by the trade union maxim that an injury to one is an injury to all. We, therefore, harbour no malice towards anyone but goodwill towards all.   I accordingly extend my hands of comradeship to my fellow contestant.
I implore him to join hands with us in the TUC family so that we can pool our intellects together to advance the profile of the Congress to greater heights and uplift the living standards of Nigerian workers and other underprivileged groups in the country.”
“I must sincerely put on record the indelible and invaluable contributions of the immediate past President-General of the Congress, Comrade Peter Esele, and those of his colleagues in the national administrative council for not only making the TUC formidable but also nurturing it into an institution that is now highly respected at home and abroad.
I wish to assure you that the new Leadership of the TUC will strive to further enhance the status of the Congress and move its banner to the next level.
I want to say that very shortly the new leadership of the Congress will unveil the blueprint for the implementation of the broad programmes that formed the basis for this mandate you have given  to us today.
I wish to extend our hands of fellowship to the Nigeria Labour Congress, Civil Society Groups and the Media.  I want to pledge that we will continue to network with you and all men of goodwill to steer the country in the path of good governance.
He added  “It is also necessary to state that I regard the Government and Labour organizations as partners-in-progress.  This is because we are all pursuing the same noble goal of promoting the common good of the citizens.  The new leadership of the TUC will, therefore, work in harmony with the Government and private sector employers to make Nigeria a better place than we met it.  In this partnership, commendations will be given and criticisms made when and where necessary.”