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Solitary Unions
By
Zarina Geloo
THE NIGERIAN labour movement union was taken
down a peg or two on Monday night when a well known gender
activist asked why it had isolated itself from the rest of
civil society and told it to get off its high horse and help
build the institutional structures of other civic bodies.
Yemi Fela- Kuti a gender activist was speaking
at the “Nigeria night: reflections on the status of
civil society” at the Yar’Adua centre where the
Commonwealth Peoples’ Forum is meeting ahead of the
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
Kuti said the trade union was the single non
government body in Nigeria which had a strong and vibrant
institutional structure and was powerful enough to take on
government, but it stood alone, secure in its strength and
did not engage other civic bodies.
She told the meeting that trade unions were
traditionally the most well organized and powerful civic bodies
in most countries. She referred to the trade union movement
in South Africa which was a major player in the anti apartheid
movement and was part of the process that secured the release
of former president Nelson Mandela and other African National
Congress (ANC) members from Robben Island.
“In Nigeria the trade union has stood
alone. But it is such a powerful organization that it can
help strengthen civic bodies both institutionally and programmatically.”
She said if the trade unions supported other
civic bodies, Nigeria would not be in the dire straits it
is now. All organizations needed to support each other in
their specific areas of interest.
“It is not about one organisation, it
is about people collectively doing something to help themselves,
to curb government excesses and also to take part in the way
they are governed.”
Commenting on Kuti’s assertions, Adams
Oshiomhole president of the Nigerian Labour Congress said
contrary to public opinion, the trade union supported the
causes of other civic bodies.
Where the trade unions views converged or
where issues were cross cutting, the labour movement collaborated
with other civic bodies.
Oshiomhole said the nature of the labour movement
was such that it was highly political and because its constituency
was large, it was an automatic force to reckon with.
He said the trade unions wanted to empower
Nigerians and make them more proactive in the political process.
“We want to have a society that is able
to hold its government accountable, a society that is interested
in the way it is governed and a society that will roll back
government excesses.”
He said the civil society in Nigeria
has always been vibrant and what had changed since the new
government took over was that there was a greater commitment
to abide by the constitution.
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