THE MASS PROTESTS AND STRIKE WERE SUCCESSFUL

It is important to thank all Nigerians who participated in the national strike and mass protests across the country and abroad. I do believe the struggle is just starting. And we all need to believe in our collective ability to unite against the very tiny clique in and out of government that are united against the rest of us, using all the apparatus of state power to arrest, murder, maim, blackmail and destroy the oppressed each time we, the people, rise in unison against them.

The past few weeks convinced me more than ever before that the revolution is just around the corner. The overwhelming unity of our people was marvelous just as the unprecedented strong resolve by everyone to keep up the protests until the desired changes are achieved.

Yes, not a few are angry that labour suspended the strike. I think your anger is is real and expected. But, I want to remind us all that the trade unions in Nigeria are entities created by law and operate strictly, for now, within the operational guides of industrial relations. Under this premise, the unions make demands, which are presented before employers/government; they go into negotiations, and when negotiations fail, the unions proceed on strike. That is the tradition imposed by law on the unions.

Here in Nigeria, the unions have tried several times to break out of this legal bondage and on each occassion, the state blackmails them.

In this recent case, the demand by the unions was just on fuel price increase, and NOTHING more.
And as the strike progressed, the unions were called for dialogue and presented with different price options but the leaderships of both the NLC and TUC CONSISTENTLY SAID NO, GOVERNMENT MUST RETURN TO N65/LITRE BEFORE ANY NEGOTIATION. That was praiseworthy and they stood on this point, until the blackmail that the strike has been hijacked by some people for political advantage. The unions certainly faced a strong handicap on this because, for the unions to advance further, they need a strong movement of strongly visioned civil society activists, under one strong national platform that can keep carry on, as massively as possible on all other demands that are unrelated to labour's demands. The truth is, this type of platform is absent in Nigeria and each time attempts were made to build one, it doesn't work because a lot of people, though very angry at the situation in Nigeria, lack organisational discipline to survive within such movements. Everyone wants his own organisation. Everyone wants his own platform. Everyone wants his own protests. Everyone wants his own street. And that way, we will lose the much needed common voice. We will lose the common purpose. And that's the problem. No revolution has ever succeeded under such circumstances.

However, despite all these, labour has always been eager to break out of the contraptions imposed on it by law and extend its hands to the civil society groups (as people call cells of activists these days). This led to the formation of the Labour and Civil Society Coalition (LASCO) with three constituents- NLC, TUC and the Joint Action Front ( which is itself a coalition of active and conscious organisations with clear understanding and focus on what it takes to have a better society). Even this has not fully grown to maturity, but no one will wait until then before challenging oppression.

As it is, we surely need to look at the suspension of the strike as an interim option to save lives and the few organisations we have from being destroyed. This could have happened.

What I can take from what has happened is that Nigerians have become more conscious, determined, fearless, and united and ready to challenge the state. But, a common platform is absent and this is what we urgently need. We can't put all our hopes on just one organistion, whose scope of demands and operation is limited. And I think this is why most people were shocked and disappointed at the suspension of the strike.

However, even on the price reduction agenda of the trade unions, we should not lose hope because the N97 announced by Jonathan is not the outcome of negotiations with labour. It was the Emperor's unilateral decision. The NLC and TUC are resuming negotiations to actualise the demand for the return of petrol pump price to N65.
This should not stop the rest of the conscious society from organising and building a strong movement that will be able to speak with one voice, under one platform and for well defined agenda popular enough to attract the commitment of everyone.

Afterall, fuel price increase is merely a symptom of the decadence of the state. The ultimate struggle should be a change that will usher good governance and break the string with neo liberal economies.

After a deep reflection between yesterday and this afternoon, I think we should look at these issues this way and stop troubling our hearts over the suspension of the strtikes. Labour has tried within its capacity and legal space.
We have not lost anything, rather we have collectively gained a lot. We only need to build on this.

No one should be in doubt that the Jonathan regime was terribly jolted. They never expected what they got, and we should reassure them they will be terrified by the fire next time.

WE WILL RECLAIM NIGERIA. Its a matter of time, and the time is getting closer.