By Abadom Lawrence Amechi
Hope is the sustenance that bridges the gaps between life’s routine nourishments. Even when circumstances force us to skip meals, hope becomes the substitute that keeps us going. It is the elixir of life, the vital energy that fuels our existence and lubricates the engine of our being. Without hope, we are left with nothing but misery.
What our bad and clueless leaders have done in the past 25 years was to destroy every vestige of hope left for the common people. Every four years, our politicians rearrange their lies and wrap them with the foil of hope and before we realise it, we are doomed for another four empty years. The current economic policies have pushed millions into abject poverty, with workers being hit the hardest. Nigerian workers are now among the most impoverished, traumatized and vilified globally. President Tinubu’s leadership seems unconcerned about the worsening economic situation. Government has subtly undermined the buying power of the ₦70,000 new minimum wage.
Fortunately for the politicians, the labour movement with its robust and rich history of advocacy and struggle for workers welfare has gone comatose. Itself a victim of corruption, indiscipline and political manipulations. In the past, the movement kept the touch of hope aglow for years. It was in the forefront for the emancipation of the working masses from the shackles of labour slavery. It was involved in the independent struggle, and was deeply involved in the struggle to rescue the common people from the yoke of military rule.
As we celebrate the 2025 May Day in the midst of harsh economic situation – global political and economic uncertainties, internal security challenges, rising cost of living, high level of corruption and myriad of other ailing issues; I raise my clenched fist in salute to all our past leaders, who passionately and courageously led robust collective action with the toiling masses.
The working people need the NLC now like never before. One can argue that many of our civil society organisations are now run by impostors without the requisite commitment and capacity to effectively provide the needed advocacy and sensitisation to confront the forces and elements undermining our dreams. All voices of opposition appear to have been stifled. Peter Obi may be the only voice being heard in the wilderness, and efforts are been made to silence him.
The labour movement has a huge role to play! It has to provide leadership that can effectively galvanise the energy of the civil society. This must not be toyed with. Nigeria is now in complete disarray! The working people are at the epicentre of darkness, the fog of hunger, insecurity and uncertainty tends to cover our socio-political sphere. Life has become so cheap. Cost of living, bad governance, threats of ethnic division, religious extremism are trending.
In the midst of these crises, the workers are most affected, most traumatised, most dehumanised. If he or she has not lost someone in Benue, he may have lost one in Zamfara, Borno, Imo, Edo, Kogi or elsewhere around the country. The working masses live in perpetual fear, the next minute is uncertain. Anything can happen. How do we explain a situation where salary earners go to bed hungry with their families several days every month?
Our leaders have watched everyday grievances and worries crystallise into terrorism, banditry and militant activism. Our present state of despair has put unbridled assault on the existence of the working people. We no longer have leaders who believe in selflessness and sacrifice. We no longer have leaders who are capable of mentoring future generations. The working people are in dire straits. Our purchasing power has waned due to bad economic policies; life has become so precarious and uncertain.
Our working masses have no real hope of still being in employment by the end of the year. He or she may be redundant or turned into a casual worker. Some employers will even abandon their businesses and run from debt, leaving the worker to its fate.
Except our capacity for deep reflection is completely eroded, the workers and masses have no reason at this time to celebrate May Day. It is supposed to be a time for deep sober reflection. The working masses of today appear to be alone; they have heavy hearts and seemingly insurmountable burdens. The Nigeria Labour Congress leadership of today is inept and as clueless as the state of today. The leadership of most of the affiliate unions are as corrupt as the politicians.
NLC leadership has completely abdicated its core values and objectives. The unwarranted gruesome killings, high electricity tariff, frequent kidnappings, high cost of transport, high cost of medical bills, high petrol prices, do not appear to be enough to wake the leadership of the Congress from its protracted slumber.
Our labour leaders, in almost all the affiliates of the NLC, have not only turned completely partisan; they have unabashedly become cheerleaders of corrupt politicians. It was Ayn Rand; a Russian-American writer, who said: “When you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing – when you see that money is flowing to those who deal not in goods, but in favour – when you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work and your laws don’t protect you against them, but protect them against you. When you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice, you may know that your society is doomed.”
The working peoples are clearly doomed without real change! Those who have the platform and capacity to speak up should not keep quiet. The silence and docility of the NLC leadership is very dangerous. The government has muzzled hope and silenced all opposition. The working masses still have hope in the NLC and the trade union movement. We have to make their hope a reality. History has shown that when the millions of members of the trade union movement act then the rest of civil society will move in support and real change will be delivered.
Download our full Socialist May Day Newspaper 2025 with the link below: https://socialistlabour.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Socialist-Labour-May-2025.pdf
