Nigeria’s Unsung Heroes - Part 6

Apart from the Political Class / the neo-politicians, the bureaucracy, intelligentsia and business / corporate conglomerate, the labour is a pivotal contender in determination of power structure and configuration, being the fulcrum of restoration and a major determinant in the establishment of sanity of management of resources and resources utilization, the labour can be termed as a central pillar in securing the foundations of the ideals of efficiency in governance and effectiveness in summoning the inauguration tailored in the behaviour of a responsible and responsive leadership that is mindful of nationalistic salient points. The history of labour has been that of a stuggle for enhanced conditions and unrelentless search for improvement in leadership responsibilities.

In Nigeria, one can capture the thunderbolt barricades at varying era of struggle, more so,during military reigns that are pervasive of voices of challenge, prominent are the Ali Ciroma’s loud chorus of change, the Pascal Bafyau's symptomatic descent and of recent, the Adams Oshiomhole’s hovering around the Papal’s mesmerizing power of succumb under President (General) Olusegun Obasanjo. None had been so vibrant as the personality and struggle of Chief (Pa) Michael Imoudu. His militant unionism in politics had forced him to abandoned the labour lamentations for politics proper, in order to actualize the dreams of labour.

Max Weber in Law in Economy and Society treats power as “someone or some group is imposing its will and purpose or purposes on others, including those who are reluctant or adverse. The greater the capacity so to impose such will and achieve the related purpose, the greater the power”.  When Chief Michael Imoudu joined the People’s Redemption Party (PRP) as the vice presidential candidate under Malam Aminu Kano as it’s Presidential candidate in the Second Republic he was to prove the essence of Weber’s hypothesis. Though defeated in the polls that was marked with the accusation of wide spread manipulation of electoral result, Malam Aminu Kano and Pa Michael Imoudu were fortunate enough to vindicate the nauseating apocalypse in the national determination of the national question. When compared with the current groveling impotence of Adams Oshiomhole and the attendant pathetic lack – luster, Pa Imoudu’s spanning struggle from the rudiments of labour to the radical labour holistic approach in politics that came up with Nigerian labour party as far back as 1964. Struggles’ goes along with sacrifices and some form of persecution but Oshiomhole’s labour latent was miser and stingy considering the many pennish somersault at emergency situations. I was to take Adams Oshiomhole very serious even at the risk of waving away the much - talked about romance between Oshiomhole and President Olusegun Obasanjo at the early stage of the installation of this administration but the naked gibberish of Oshiomhole at the event of the Presidential election proper and aftermath in which he was curiously supporting and lending credence to incredible pontifications and the glaring malfeasance made me to conclude that it is just a matter of time that labour would miss it’s traditional tracks. 

The President known as the acknowledged betrayer of his friends in politics,  having betrayed Chief Solomon Lar as the main purveyor of fourth republic politics, Chief Barnabas Gemade, the erstwhile chairman of the ruling party and Chief Audu Ogbeh as chairman of the party (PDP) amongst others had led Adams Oshiomhole to the familiar waterloo after demystifying his intent of intentions there by emasculating the labour into a masculine without a backbone.  The labour under Adams Oshiomhole was more or less an extension of conquering zone reminiscent of a rule by a conquering emperor. Even the labor’s labored search for cover and shelter under the civil rights groups to protest actions of government did not help matters. In politics just like in life, dynamism is invested in give and take, one cannot surrender his rights and gets his power. Money and power are reciprocal determinants in a struggle for power and hence, legitimacy  of power acquisition had to obey the principle of unforgiving denouement with time . The President was smart and elated at the Common wealth Heads of governments’ meeting showing little attention to the Lagos protest against the increase in oil price. The Vice President who presided over the federal executive meeting of that day which conceded with the Lagos day of protest innocently commended labour for not adopting the strike option but protest - a protest that had later presented disastrous consequence of claiming the life as one of the finest and dogged civil rights leader, comrade Chima Ubani. With some respected personalities like Professor Wole Soyinka, Commodore Ndubuisi Kanu, Dr. Beko Ransome Kuti, Governor Ahmed Bola Tinubu amongst others, Oshiomhole was to make the assumption of an impact. The present government no doubt is no respect of Oshiomhole’s veil assumptions and hence the impact is no impact as far as the issue of reversal of oil price is concerned.

Verily, the Chief Michael Imoudu’s militant approach and his spontaneous aura in effecting people oriented approach toward a fight against anti-people policies had gone extinct with the clear show of incompetence of the labour. This is the time to remember Pa Michael Imoudu’s struggle for the labor’s triumphant achievements.

POSTSCRIPT

FOR PROFESSOR ISHAYA AUDU, DR. YUSUFU BALA USMAN AND COMRADE CHIMA UBANI.

The September, 2005 was a black September. Professor Ishaya Shuaibu Audu, a renowned medical scientist, the first indigenous Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, an elder-statesman, former Minister and a true Christian by exemplary life of selfless service died, so also is Dr. Yusufu Bala Usman, a scholar of repute and comrade Chima Ubani of the Civil rights group. Like a month full of fury it had tendered a harvest of deaths that was to be a fomenting pot. Let September 2005 never come our way again. May God Almighty have pity on their souls. Amen.

-Mamza, a political columnist with the Leadership Newspapers with from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.     

Continued.....