As workers converge on the Eagles Square in Abuja Nigeria’s capital and across the thirty-six States of the federation to celebrate this year’s Workers’ Day on Sunday May first, their focus would be on how to draw the attention of leadership to address the security situation in the country among others.
President of the Nigeria Labour Congress NLC Ayuba Wabba, stated this in an interview with Voice of Nigeria in Abuja.
May first every year is marked globally as Worker’s Day; a day set aside by the United Nations to celebrate workers and their struggles.
Wabba who is also the President of the International Trade Union Confederation ITUC, said that peace, stability, security and good governance should be the constitutional responsibility of any government in power.
The 2022 International Workers Day Celebration holds Tomorrow 1st May, 2022, Nationwide. pic.twitter.com/iaaAJ4nbMb
— Nigeria Labour Congress HQ (@NLCHeadquarters) April 30, 2022
According to him, “the constitutional responsibility of every government is about ensuring the peace and security of every citizen. This is what is supposed to occupy our political elite today not the next circle of elections.
“It should be on how we can ensure there is peace, stability, security in every facet of our lives, I mean in every locality in Nigeria.
“In all of these, workers have been at the receiving end, in spite of the insecurity, some of our workers have to frontally engage in the issue of insecurity, such as the Police, Military and Para-military and Health workers”, he said.
He added that, in spite of the challenges workers face daily, their salaries cannot take them home, yet they are still on the front line.
Ayuba Wabba also said that to address the current challenges in Nigeria will require a political solution because, “with the best of strikes and best of protests, you can see that the problems have remained the same”.
On the importance of Workers’ Day commemoration, the ITUC President said the essence of the May Day or International Workers’ Day, is for workers to be recognised and appreciated for the fact that they create wealth.
“It is the celebration of workers, they create the wealth, ensure stability and they also provide all the services that we need to keep our economy growing and the system going.
“That is from the ordinary farmer to the Armed Forces, and to the highest of all of them that are workers,” he said.
The International Workers’ Day is a day set aside by the United Nations to create awareness on the sacrifices of workers and for the political elites to be reminded of what should be done to ensure that workers globally are adequately protected.
Workers through their unions, according to Wabba, have struggled for social justices in the system saying that “in some climes they must be recongised and appreciated for their contributions in creating wealth.”
2022 International Workers Day pic.twitter.com/oTqU6Jx1IP
— Nigeria Labour Congress HQ (@NLCHeadquarters) April 30, 2022
The theme of this year May Day in Nigeria is “Labour, Politics, the Quest for Good Governance and Development,” and NLC said that the theme was deliberately crafted to capture “the mood of the moment, whereas there is a lot of a challenge including the security challenge confronting Nigerians today from different facets.”
Over the years in Nigeria, May Day is marked with march pass parades by different unions, and speeches are made by the leadership of the organised labour bringing to the fore the plights of workers and tasking authorities at various levels to step up actions towards ensuring that workers get a better deal if not the best in their chosen fields.