From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja

President Bola Tinubu, last week, stirred the hornets’ nest when he hauled barrages of abusive attacks on the leaderships of the trade unions, specifically the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), for daring to mobilise Nigerian workers to the streets again to protest the escalating cost of living ravaging the country.
The President in his planned utterances at an event in Lagos to inaugurate the Lagos Rail Mass
Transit (LRMT), Train Station last week, furiously questioned labour’s moral grounds, compass
and value of protesting against his just nine-months-old administration, describing the action as
the height of insensitivity and unfairness to him.
The President did not stop at the justification of the fairness or otherwise of the labour
movement’s action, but also indignantly told the leadership of NLC to wait for the next
presidential election in 2027 to indicate interest, contest and win the presidential seat before
unseating him at the Aso Rock.
According to the President, “Calling for a strike in just nine months of an administration is
unacceptable. NLC is not the voice in Nigeria. It should wait till 2027 if it is interested in joining
the electoral process.”
Expectedly, ever since the outburst, several political commentators have been sharply divided in
justifying and or criticising President Tinubu’s verbal attack on the labour leaders. Those
favourably in tune with Mr. President chided the leaderships of the labour unions for consciously
organising the highest number of strikes and protests in the young life of the current
administration more than any other previous democratic government.
On the flip side, his antagonists, however, claim that Nigerians did not also go through the
current excruciating burning furnace of difficulties in the hands of the previous administrations as
they are currently experiencing under President Tinubu.
In the perceptions of many Nigerians, President Tinubu may perhaps be deliberately and
advertently adopting diversionary tactics as a political weapon to emasculate, and blackmail
envisaged or real adversaries against his government.
And to correct whatever negative impression that Mr. President may be harbouring in making
such weighty allegations against the labour leaders, the NLC in its right of reply to President
Tinubu, described it as troubling.
NLC President, Joe Ajaero, in a statement he issued, sarcastically noted that Tinubu focusing on
“the distant 2027 election”, rather than the urgent needs of the people, was a confirmation of his
disconnect from the realities faced by Nigerians daily.
Ajaero equally wondered why Tinubu, rather than address the pressing issues, “appeared
preoccupied with political calculations and future electoral prospects”.
He noted that; “President Tinubu’s insinuation that Labour lacks the moral ground to challenge
his administration, merely nine months into office, is deeply troubling. Regrettably, the President
seems oblivious to the profound hardships endured by millions of Nigerians.
“The pervasive hunger, unemployment, housing insecurity, and escalating costs of basic
necessities such as food and healthcare demand immediate attention and decisive action. Yet,
instead of addressing these pressing concerns, President Tinubu appears preoccupied with
political calculations and future electoral prospects.
“The NLC wishes to emphasise that our primary objective is not to vie for political positions,
including that of the President. Rather, our sole focus is on advocating for effective governance
that prioritises the welfare and security of all Nigerians. We urge President Tinubu to redirect his
efforts towards fulfilling this fundamental duty of public office, rather than engaging in political
rhetoric.”
The leadership of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) warned him to wake up to the stark reality
that the union leaders are not politicians, emphasising their right to protest.
President of the TUC, Festus Osifo, said: “I listened to that comment where he said that we
should wait for 2027 if we want to contest for elections. I could speak for TUC, we are not
politicians, we are unionists, it is our right to protest – it is a fundamental right of every single
Nigerian.
“We don’t have issues with protests, when need be, people will exercise their rights and people
must protest. In terms of waiting till 2027 to enter into politics, I don’t think that is something we
could dabble into because I, as an individual, am not a card-carrying member of any political
party.

“What I am interested in is the welfare of my members and indeed the entire Nigerian masses.
What the president said, for me, is alien to us because the right to protest and the right to strike
is that of the workers. There are condition precedents, for the fact that you are going on protest
or strike, there are some things that led to it, those fundamental issues must be addressed.”
However, as a way of streamlining the contentious issue, one can rightly claim that President
Tinubu may be very right in basing his anger on the failure of the labour movement to realise
that his administration is still at an embryonic stage that should be given more time and benefit
of doubt to refocus the already battered economy it met on ground.
Many argue however that what is incontrovertible is that several concerns may have
consequently necessitated the actions of the labour unions. They ranged from the unpalatable
experiences learnt from the immediate past administration of former president Muhmmadu
Buhari and the current biting hunger in the land.
Recall that based on trust, conviction and perhaps appeal for benefit of the doubt, Nigerians had
magnanimously waited for former president Buhari, watching him patiently waste their precious
time for six months before constituting his cabinet.
And perhaps, not ready to pass through the same experience during Buhari’s time, it is obvious
that Nigerians are not ready to take such chances any longer.
To many political watchers, President Tinubu may be very unfair in castigating the labour union
leaders judging by his recent comments outside the shores of the country, where he demanded
inclusion into the Guinness World Book of Record as the first and only President who
implemented his policy from day one of his administration.
Apart from his repeated assurances during his campaigns that he has prepared for the position
for over 20 years, he also made Nigerians believe that he has religiously followed his
administration’s policy schedule, especially in the promptness with which he appointed the
Ministers and composed his cabinet.
Therefore, in the consideration of many political pundits, if President Tinubu wanted Nigerians to
clap, cheer and give him standing ovation for the prompt implementation of his administration’s
policies, he should also be ready to bear the agonising pangs of criticisms from Nigerians in
some areas he failed to measure up to their expectations.
And, so far, some of the glaring areas of failure include the four policy decisions he has taken
that did not portray him as a man with clear directions of where he is headed.
Curiously, since assumption of office, at least four major policy decisions taken impulsively
without clearly defined plans, have confirmed him as a man who requires the intervention of
Nigerians to ensure he does not derail.
So far, good examples of such policy decisions taken impulsively include the issue of removal of
subsidy on petroleum products, floating the exchange rate of the Naira, the now reversed
sanction against the Niger Republic over the military coup of July 26, 2023, and most recently,
the directives to implement the recommendations of Steven Oronsaye Committee report.
Additionally, issues of engaging relevant stakeholders concerning his policy decisions, aimed at
guaranteeing inclusivity in the implementation, which appeared to have been taken for granted
should be enough to escalate and worsen the bitterness of many affected Nigerians bearing the
brunt of his wrong policies.
In fact, in the words of a chieftain of the ruling party, Salihu Moh Lukman, President Tinubu-led
administration has not only become visionless, clueless and directionless but has also exhibited
high-level of dictatorial tendencies against the Nigerian masses.
It was that bad that comparing the current Tinubu-led administration with that of former president
Buhari, Lukman conclusively drew semblance of both presidents coming to power to fulfil their
lifetime ambition of being historically documented and referred as the President of Nigeria.
In what looked like justifying the action or inactions of the labour leaders against Tinubu, he
noted: “arguably, concerning all these issues, it is as if the government first announce decisions
before beginning to think in terms of what needs to be done to manage the consequences that

followed. In this case, rather than acting as a progressive government that is dynamic, action-
oriented towards improving the welfare conditions of citizens, President Tinubu’s administration

is behaving more like a reactionary government.
“Given such reality, it is almost impossible to predict what the goal or vision of the government
is. This was clearly the same problem we had with former president Buhari government. The
incomprehensible reality is that both former president Buhari’s and current President Tinubu-led

governments are APC governments, which got elected based on the promise of changing
Nigeria.
“Part of the change that is expected is having a government that guarantees and
accommodates inclusivity, based on which the outcry of citizens is factored and utilised to guide
design and implementation of government policy.”
Accusing the Tinubu administration as guilty of dictatorial tendencies, the APC chieftain declared
that; “from the time of former president Buhari to the current era of President Tinubu, issues of
inclusivity are in reverse gear. Rather than engaging Nigerians and getting them to own policies
of government, supposedly progressive governments talked down on Nigerians and like
dictators, almost tell citizens to take-as-given, every decision taken, even when faced with grave
consequences, threatening survival as is presently being experienced.”
He added: “some of the explanations being canvassed by especially many disappointed APC
members are that both former President Buhari and President Tinubu just wanted to win election
and become Presidents of Nigeria. Once they achieved that, any other thing with respect to
good government and policy orientation is hardly a priority.
“Sadly, the current economic hardship arising from impulsive decisions of the Tinubu-led
government without an articulated policy plan is strengthening the belief that the commitments
of both former President Buhari and President Asiwaju are not more than becoming Presidents,
which they have achieved.”
To further send warning signals to Tinubu that only the claps and ovation he received at the
event from the traditional sycophants, the leadership of the Coalition of United Political Parties
(CUPP) expressed deep concerns over his intimidating utterances against the labour
movement.
In the statement signed by its National Secretary, High Chief, Peter Ameh, CUPP noted that; “it
finds it disturbing that an opposition leader who was allowed unfettered access to all the rights
that accrue to all Nigerians under the Constitution, and because of being humans, including the
right to form and hold lawful assembly by the government in power before 2015, is now being
curtailed with NLC harassed and intimidated for calling out the government to see through the
agreements.
“The Coalition calls upon the government of President Tinubu to thread softly, commence the
immediate fulfilment of the agreements it entered into with the NLC to alleviate the suffering
Nigerian workers are passing through, rather than the use of intimidation tactics to silence the
labour movement and by extension Nigerians from demanding for good governance which is
rightfully theirs.
“President Tinubu should also bear in mind that no democracy flourishes and becomes
entrenched with all the rights as contained in the 1999 Constitution as Amended, and Universal
Declaration on Human Rights, including the right to free speech, assembly and the right to
peaceful protests.
“The democratic space must never be constricted, which was essentially what the utterances of
President Tinubu portrayed. Rather, it should be expanded to accommodate all different and
differing opinions, including the right to dissent.”
The contention by many critical observers is that if President Tinubu actually is already
preoccupied with his future electoral prospects, he may be in for a daunting task of winning the
legitimate votes of many disgruntled Nigerians.
In the words of his fellow party chieftain, Lukman: “Without any hesitation, one can argue that at
the rate we are going, our party, APC, and our leaders have short-changed Nigerians. What
Nigerians are having today wasn’t what was promised at all.
“The most disturbing reality is that given that the current economic hardship is produced during
the first term of President Tinubu, with no end in sight, does it then mean that he is not
interested in second term? Certainly not! If he is interested in second term, why is he managing
affairs of government like a military dictator, shutting down the structures of the party and talking
down on citizens like a philosopher king who has absolute knowledge of what will produce
possible happiness for citizens?
“Unless the objective is to secure a second term by other means and not votes of the electorate,
there cannot be any logical reasoning. Could that be the reason for the newfound love with
some identified political mercenaries who were strongly opposed to the election of President
Tinubu?

“How successful could they be? If military governments with all their recruited mercenaries could
fail to guarantee their survival, how could anyone imagine that mercenaries could win a second
term for President Tinubu?”
According to a popular Nigerian saying, the weekend that would be productive starts on a
promissory note by Monday. But essentially, the question of whether the government of Tinubu
has shown promise of resolving the myriad of challenges facing Nigerians is still unanswered
and unresolved.
For many critical observers, a government that insensitively budgeted humongous funds to
purchase official vehicles, earmarked millions of Naira to renovate the offices and residents of
elected officials, embark on fruitless foreign trips and other frivolous expenses where millions of
its citizens starve for days among other harrowing experiences, does not promise a brighter
future.