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Organised labour’s activities may have been impossible without democracy in Nigeria, says Comrade Issa Aremu.
This is even as he said that labour has been the greatest beneficiary of democracy.
Speaking during a session with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the activities of the apex bank to improve the economy, Aremu, the secretary-general of the Nigeria Textile Union, said that he labour movement ought to celebrate 20 years of uninterrupted democracy in Nigeria, considering that the country hitherto experienced 30 years of military rule under which labour suffered.
According to him, during the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida and the late General Sani Abacha, the labour movement suffered a lot.
“Under IBB, NLC was dissolved in 1988 and, in 1994, Abacha dissolved us again. Labour cannot function very well without democracy. We are a democratic organisation.
“This is why I think we should all celebrate as labour leaders. We should not leave this to politicians alone. We cannot operate without democracy,” he said.
Aremu, who contested as the governorship candidate of the Labour Party in the 2019 election in Kwara State, said labour, as a democratic body, was also teaching Nigeria democracy. He charged the unionists to be abreast with the issues of politics and the economy.
“A good unionist must know about inflation, interest rates, capacity utilisation and employment rates. You must know about the monetary policy rates. All these issues affect us in the world of work,” he said.
Aremu described the CBN’s creative intervention in the Nigerian economy as commendable: “CBN is working today because we have a competent hand. Mr. Emefiele is a man of vision, but he is also passionate about Nigeria, he is patriotic; we need to replicate that kind of public officer.
“Also, in terms of engagement, I haven’t seen the CBN engaging in any sort of controversy; he doesn’t go outside his mandate. What happens is robust engagement, such that both the executive and legislature agreed that he should go for another term. And the facts are all verifiable.
“They all talk about jobs that have been created; so you need similar kinds of personnel in the next cabinet of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Aremu noted that, for the Nigerian economy to improve on its current growth levels, all hands must be on the deck.
“CBN is doing its own side of the bargain, but the other fiscal authorities must also complement the efforts of the CBN.
“For example, CBN can’t do much to stop smuggling; so you have improvement in rice production, but by the time the farmers’ (products) reach the market, they have been overwhelmed by smuggled rice. It is the same thing with textiles, so Customs must also sit up.
“Energy is also important. We need uninterrupted power supply. We need the same activism that we are witnessing at the apex bank, at Customs, at the Ministry of Power. The Ministry of Trade and investment must sit up also; Ministry of Labour must sit up as well, because they are the ones to find out whether the funds made available to investors in this sector are actually used for production and employment is being created,” he said.
