On Nov. 7, the combined leadership of Nigeria’s two largest labor unions issued a communiqué declaring the “withdrawal of services” nationwide, beginning at midnight, Nov. 14. This marks the third time that a national strike has been threatened since the inauguration of Bola Tinubu as President, on May 29. On two previous occasions, only extraordinary efforts (false promises and threats) on the part of the federal government prevented the country from being completely shut down.
What makes the threat more credible this time is that, on Nov. 1, the leader of the National Labor Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero, was brutally abused and then kidnapped by the Nigeria Police force, after a labor protest that day against the Governor of the southeastern state of Imo, Hope Uzodimma. The NLC and its partner union, Trade Union Congress, held a joint National Executive Council meeting on Nov. 7, after which the unified action was declared.
Describing the Nov. 1 incident, the NLC said in a statement: “The police in the usual manner accompanied by thugs led by the Special Assistant to the Governor of Imo state on Special Duties: Mr. Chinasa Nwaneri ... descended on the President of the Congress after overpowering the few workers who were left after the initial battering, inflicted heavy injuries and big blows to his head and body and kicking him in the process, while dragging him on the ground, while the police supervised the mayhem. They eventually bundled the president into their waiting van and whisked him away to [an] unknown destination where he is still being held incommunicado….”
