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From Bimbola Oyesola
Midway into the year, Nigeria’s worsening security situation pushed organised labour beyond boardrooms and policy papers. Rising incidents of kidnapping, violent attacks and communal displacement began directly affecting workers’ safety and productivity.
Labour leaders openly linked insecurity to unemployment and economic deprivation, arguing that unsafe working environments were fast becoming a national labour issue.
This culminated in a nationwide protest against insecurity, where workers joined civil society groups across major cities to demand protection of lives alongside livelihoods. Placards bearing messages such as “No security, no productivity” reflected labour’s insistence that economic growth was impossible without safety.
Both NLC and TUC warned that “no nation can function when workers leave home unsure they will return alive,” framing insecurity as both a governance failure and a labour crisis.
