By Mumini AbdulKareem
Kwara workers last week in Ilorin threw caution to wind when they stormed the Government House in droves to register their displeasure over the refusal of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq to sign the new minimum wage into law.
The workers who matched to the Ahmadu Bello Way facility of the Kwara State seat of government, displayed different placards to register their displeasure over the Governorโs action.
Although the inscriptions on the placards were not visible during the peaceful protest in a viral video that later went viral on the internet, the workers were heard chanting songs of solidarity and discontent in Yoruba language against the Governor.
In the forty-nine minutes video which was seen by the reporter, the workers faulted the government for reneging on the promises made to workers adding that they thought he was knowledgeable (about the art of governance).
The song which was chorused by the workers in unison went thus:
โOti yara gbagbe, ireti re gbagbogbo, ase binti logbon ori re, iwo ti aro po ogbon, ase binti logbon ori re, iwo ti aro po ogbonโ translated as โyou have suddenly forgot your promises made always. We’ve come to realise you’re mediocre, unknowledgeableโ.
The action of the workers is coming against the backdrop of past labour leaders in the state who reacted to the impasse which lasted three days.
According to a former Kwara State chairman of the NLC, Comrade Farouk Akanbi, the governor has no business in office if he cannot pay the minimum wage.
In a telephone chat with National Pilot said the situation in Kwara about the minimum wage is very unfortunate.
Hear him: My view about the (strike) is that I would have expected the government of Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq to have lived up to expectations by at least acceding to the demands of the workers in the state considering all those propagandas that were put in place during the electioneering campaign.
โThey told us Kwara was not paying N18,000 even when it was evident they were ignorant of the law on minimum wage. They made a pledge that they will pay normal N18,000, I don’t know what they meant by normal of course and they claim they were going to pay N18,000. I would have expected them to accede to workers demand and negotiate to a reasonable level such this ugly situation could have been averted.
โI want to enjoin the government to do all the needful, by engaging labour in constructive engagement in a manner that it could be a win win situation for everybodyโ, he added.
On the alleged use of thug against the leaders by the government, Akanbi โit is an unfortunate situation which is unheard of in the history of labour-government relation in Kwara State as labour leaders have the right to exact the mandate of those who elected them and workers they represent, as long as they’re doing that in a justifiable manner, which they have done. It is unfortunate that the government of Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, the government of APC will go ahead and unleash mayhem on innocent labour leaders.
He said transparency and openness of the past government in their dealings with labour was the reason why strikes have been averted in the past.
โI remember there was a time when Bukola Saraki was the Governor and the issue of teachers salary structure and special allowances came up. Teachers were to go on strike, Bukola negotiated with them and made a pledge to pay within two months and labour suspended the strike. Saraki fulfilled his promiseโ, he noted.
He said โIf the Governor says he cannot pay the workers, then he had no business being in government. In essence, he should meet with the labour leaders and then let them agree on a midpoint on all the affected categories of workers. Saying that he cannot pay should be out of it, he added.
Also, another former labour leader, Comrade Bisi Fakayode described that Governor action as unfortunate adding that the last strike action in the state occurred seventeen years ago.
โThe question now is what has been responsible for the industrial peace we have enjoyed in the past. There are a lot of communication gap between labour and government and the lack of transparency in this government. Labour are human beings and when you put issues on the table at the right time donโt allow communication gap, there will be peace. I believe this is what the past government has been maintaining that has kept the industrial peace. Labour has only been able to meet with the Governor since he came in only twice and the second time was just October 14โ.
He stressed that with the present stable allocation going on viz-a-viz the IGR which amount to around six billion naira, the state has the capacity to pay the wage.
