Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that Nigeria’s labour movement was once heavily reliant on foreign funding during the Cold War, which jeopardised national sovereignty and independent decision-making.
Obasanjo said this at the 85th birthday celebration and memoir presentation of former Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) president, Hassan Adebayo Sunmonu, on Wednesday in Abuja.
The former President represented at the event by a former NLC president and ex-governor of Edo, Senator Adams Oshiomhole.
He said this foreign influence weakened cohesion within the labour movement and threatened Nigeria’s political independence.
Obasanjo said the situation necessitated deliberate labour reforms aimed at eliminating external control and internal division.
According to him, these reforms led to the establishment of a unified labour structure that was firmly under Nigerian control, culminating in the formation of the Nigeria Labour Congress as a single national entity.
He urged Nigerians to stop lamenting the economic hardships and instead organise collectively against unjust and detrimental policies.
“If it is wrong, fight it. Justice is not won through tears or emotional speeches,” he said.
He also said that workers’ rights were historically secured through organised struggle rather than appeals for government sympathy, recalling that Nigeria’s first national minimum wage was achieved through sustained pressure from organised labour.
He said, “Minimum wage exists to protect workers without power or bargaining strength.”
While saying that inflation and currency devaluation had significantly eroded workers’ earnings over time, he said the trend is an “invisible robbery,” wherein workers lose value without realising it.
On taxation, he said that low-income earners currently bear an excessive share of the tax burden, insisting that people below a living threshold should not be taxed.
He called for stronger alliances between labour unions and civil society organisations to advocate for progressive reforms.
Speaking earlier, the President of the NLC, Comrade Joe Ajaero, criticised the new tax laws and Nigeria’s escalating public debt.
“Policies made without labour deepen poverty and weaken democracy,” he said.
The book reviewer, Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, urged leaders to embrace service, integrity, and moral responsibility. “Leadership is an avenue to serve society, not to seek personal gain,” Mr Kukah remarked.
He noted that the memoir chronicles Sunmonu’s upbringing, family life, labour activism, and international engagements across Africa and beyond. He highlighted that the book reflects on leadership, integrity, and Nigeria’s unfulfilled national aspirations.
He said, “This book explains why Nigeria’s greatness remains a dream deferred. ‘Organise, Don’t Agonise’ is accessible and reflective, portraying Mr Sunmonu’s life as a lesson in discipline, sacrifice, and commitment to workers’ welfare.”
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