Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria
have blamed the hardship and woes in the country on the ruling political
elite.
The workforce said federalism was not the reason Nigerians were suffering.
The NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, and the TUC President, Bobboi
Kaigama, who said this during a joint press briefing in Abuja on
Thursday, condemned the threats and counter-threats from the northern
and southern regions, saying Nigeria could not afford another civil war.
The unions’ presidents said the issues under contention would be
resolved through good governance and a sustained fight against
corruption.
The NLC boss said, “Our common enemy, whom we must all resolve to
face, remains the corrupt political class, who, instead, of utilising
our wealth, choose to loot for themselves and for their children. We, as
labour unions, are determined to stop our elite from throwing our
nation into another avoidable civil war.
“By no imagination should anyone blame the escalating injustice, poor
living conditions; inability of states to pay salaries, massive
unemployment and other lows on the structure of our federation.
“You have been witnesses to the degeneration of the national
conversation into threats and counter-threats; of pulling down the
federation by desperate forces, all of which were conveyed in vile
language.
“Those fanning the embers of disunity need to be schooled in the
realities of war. We appeal to all parts of Nigeria not to fall cheaply
for war as a solution to our self-inflicted crisis. Let us, therefore,
not allow them to use the poor Nigerian workers, pensioners and peasants
as cannon fodders for their selfish interests.”