Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja, witnessed a massive protest on Friday as thousands of youths took to the streets to express their opposition to the planned strike by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).

The NLC and TUC, the country’s main labor unions, have threatened to embark on a nationwide industrial action on February 27 and 28 to demand better living conditions for workers and citizens amid the economic crisis.

However, the protesters, under the banner of the Nigeria Civil Society Forum (NCSF), said the strike was ill-timed and unpatriotic, as it would disrupt the efforts of President Bola Tinubu to revive the economy and fight corruption.

Support for Tinubu’s reforms

The protesters, who carried placards with various slogans such as “No to NLC strike”, “We support Tinubu’s policies”, and “NLC is sabotaging Nigeria”, marched from the Unity Fountain to the National Assembly, where they submitted a petition to the lawmakers.

They urged Nigerians to ignore the call for the strike and support the president’s policies, which they said were aimed at improving the welfare of the masses and creating jobs for the youth.

One of the protesters, Comrade Sunday Attah, said Tinubu was not a magician who could turn around the fortunes of the country in a few months, but needed time and patience from the people.

“We must understand the trajectory of how the NLC has operated over time. Remember in this same country when fuel subsidy was removed they got up and claimed to be standing for Nigerians. They fought and said fuel subsidy should not be removed but after series of meetings, which of course today they are saying didn’t yield any fruit and matters died on the ground,” he said.

“We are not going to allow the NLC to plunge Nigeria into anarchy. Calling for protest against an eight months old government is uncalled for. The President is doing all his best. He is not a magician. All that Nigerians need at the moment is to be patient with the president.”

Averting a crisis

Another protester, Comrade Terrence Kuanum, warned that the strike could be hijacked by anti-democratic elements who want to destabilize the country and undermine Tinubu’s administration.

He said the NLC and TUC should have a rethink and return to the negotiating table with the government, rather than resorting to actions that could escalate tensions and violence.

He also gave the union leaders a 24-hour ultimatum to rescind their decision or face the wrath of the Nigerian youths.

“We are suspecting that for NLC that within the ranks of government, because if you call a strike today you will expect government to sit with you on the table and negotiate. You are already at the table with the government, all of us want you to bring solution from that negotiation table so that Nigerians will cushion the effects of what they’re going through and we want this process to be properly done so that nobody will go anywhere sabotaging the system. We are against sabotage in the system,” he said.

“I am hungry, you are hungry but it is not by sabotaging the system or antagonizing the system that we can resolve this issue. We can only resolve this issue as patriotic Nigerians that are concerned that we need to resolve this problem and the generation next to us doesn’t face it.”

A ray of hope

Despite the challenges facing the country, the protesters said they were optimistic that Tinubu’s leadership would bring positive changes and restore hope to the people.

They cited some of the achievements of the president, such as the increase in the allocations to the states, which has enabled some governors to pay salaries regularly, the fight against corruption and insecurity, and the implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

“We believe in Tinubu, we believe in Nigeria, we believe in one indivisible nation. We are here to say no to NLC strike, we are here to say yes to Tinubu’s policies, we are here to say Nigeria will be great again,” they chanted.

Source: Vanguard