In Nigeria, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole does not need any introduction, having traversed both the political and trade union terrains. There is no gainsaying that he has been around and visible in the public space for over two decades.

As a labour leader, Oshiomhole came to limelight as the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) where he became a nightmare to successive governments in power before transmuting to become the Governor of Edo State. He remains one of the most prominent leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC) since its inception.

Born on April 4, 1952, Oshiomhole, was raised in Iyamho, Auchi, Edo State. Raised from a Muslim background, he got converted to Christianity, courtesy of his first wife, Clara, who died in 2010 due to breast cancer. He is a Catholic with Eric as his Christian name.

In his early education, he attended primary and secondary schools in his state, Edo, but later travelled to the United Kingdom in 1975 where he majored in Economics and Industrial Relations at Ruskin College, Oxford. Being a bright student, Oshiomhole graduated as the best International student.

As if that was not enough, Oshiomhole took his education a notch higher by attending the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru and the Kennedy School of Government of Howard University.

Career as a Labour leader:

On finishing secondary school education, Oshiomhole was elected the Unit Secretary at Arewa Textiles Company, where he worked. His unquenchable desire for labour rights and justice was born during his tenure at Arewa Textiles Company.

The then young Oshiomhole had witnessed how workers were poorly paid and disciplinary actions meted to them unjustly. In 1971, an unplanned crisis gave him the opportunity to prove his capability as a union leader and he was elected the trade union organiser in 1975.

However, following his international studies in the UK, Oshiomhole returned to Nigeria where he was appointed the General Secretary of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, a union with over 75,000 workers.

Under his watch, the union experienced remarkable progress and achievements when it acquired investments in real estate and even had cash reserves the government and people were happy with.

Distinguishing himself as the General Secretary, Oshiomhole became the Deputy President of NLC in 1988. However, his activities were soon suspended because the military government dissolved NLC in 1995, but revived again in 1999 under democracy when he became the president of the newly revived NLC.

He achieved various outstanding feats during his tenure as the head. One of such lofty achievements include negotiating a 25 per cent wage increase for public sector workers and leading a massive and effective nationwide strike during the pump fuel prices.

Political career:

Having acquired larger than life image, and seeking to make further impact in government and leadership, Oshiomhole decided to join politics and ran for the Edo State governorship election. He gallantly succeeded in carving a political niche and ran for two terms in office from 2008 to 2016.

Following the tremendous rise in his political profile, he became the APC National chairman in 2018 through a voice vote by delegates at the party’s elective National Convention. His tenure was eventful as he preached and insisted on party supremacy. His term in office was however cut short barely two years into his four-year tenure, as he was suspended and sacked from the ruling party in 2020.

Oshiomhole, a cat with nine lives, however bounced back when he won the Senate ticket for the Edo North senatorial district on the platform of his party for the 10th Assembly and was elected senator.