By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on the government at all levels to lead the charge in making greater sacrifices for the country’s growth and not impose further hardship on the masses “who are already suffering.”
The NLC stated this in its Eid-el-Kabir message to Muslim faithful, signed by its president, Joe Ajaero, on Wednesday, May 27.
The Labour Congress accused the government of failing Nigerians through policies it said have worsened hunger, poverty, and insecurity across the country.
It stated that the spate of insecurity in the country is an indictment of its governance model, lamenting that millions of Nigerians are “bleeding under the weight of neoliberal policies”, insisting that worsening hardship and insecurity reflected poorly on the nation’s leadership and governance model.”
The NLC further urged Nigerian leaders to use the occasion of the Eid el-Kabir celebration to introspect on the impact of their policy choices on the masses who are already suffering and adopt a people-focused governance model.
The statement read, “On behalf of the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, we wish all our Muslim brothers and sisters all over the world, especially in Nigeria, a happy Sallah celebration.
“As we mark Eid-el-Kabir, a festival of sacrifice and obedience, the NLC reminds all Nigerians that this celebration should be different. The working class and the poor majority are bleeding under the weight of neoliberal policies, which, fortunately, have been widely acknowledged by our leaders. Our policy choices should then reflect this right understanding by placing workers over capital and people over profit.
“We demand that those who govern us use this period for serious introspection about the impact of their policy choices. Governance is not about winning in the media or wishful thinking. It is about the security of lives and properties and the provision of basic necessities of life: food, shelter, healthcare, education, and decent work.
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“The worsening insecurity that now threatens the existence of our nation – from banditry to kidnapping, from herdsmen bloodshed to urban violence – is a direct indictment of our governance model. Nothing can hide the fact that millions cannot sleep with their eyes closed, nor can they travel our roads freely without fearing for their lives.
“The situation requires our continued sacrifice and unity as workers and people to build a nation that works for all. However, leaders ought to lead this charge for greater sacrifice and not gorge themselves full while demanding sacrifice from workers and masses who are already suffering.
“This season demands that our leaders search themselves and decide to work for a Nigeria that will work for the majority and not for the few who occupy high public offices.
“Furthermore, as the horizon draws nearer to the 2027 general elections, the NLC wishes to serve notice that the Nigerian working class and the progressive masses are watching. We shall not forget the promises not kept, the brutalisation of peaceful protesters, and the deliberate impoverishment of workers under the guise of policy hard choices.
“2027 must not be another theatre of elite-managed deception. It must be a moment of reckoning, a moment when workers, peasants, unemployed youth, and petty traders use their collective numerical strength and their ballots to reject every anti-people candidate and party.
“We call on all Muslims, workers, and indeed all Nigerians to use this period not only for prayer but also for political education, grassroots organising, and the building of a united front of the oppressed. The labour movement will not stand idly by while the ruling class auctions the future of our children.
“We are entering a phase where every vote must be a weapon against hunger, insecurity, and exploitation.”
