‘Stop exploiting Nigerians’ — NLC tells leaders in Easter message

‘Stop exploiting Nigerians’ — NLC tells leaders in Easter message

By Jeffrey Agbo

President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has called on Nigerian leaders to embrace selfless service and implement people-focused policies, warning against what he described as growing hardship and exploitation of workers.

In his Easter message, Ajaero said, “We call on Nigerian leaders to learn from the Cross. They must stop seeing governance as an opportunity for primitive accumulation and instead see it as a platform for sacrificial service.”

He criticised the burden placed on workers, noting that “the sacrifices demanded of Nigerian workers today are ones we never consented to; the sacrifice of our wages on the altar of profiteering, the sacrifice of our safety on the altar of insecurity, and the sacrifice of our very lives on the altar of missed opportunities to govern effectively.”

Highlighting current economic challenges, the labour leader said, “Today, the soaring cost of transportation is a heavy yoke on the necks of workers. It devours our wages, steals our time, and reduces our existence to a daily struggle for survival.”

He also decried the persistent power crisis, stating, “The absence of electricity inducing darkness across the nation is not merely a technical failure; it is a weapon of mass disempowerment. It cripples our industries, kills our small businesses, and plunges our homes into darkness, making it impossible for the working class to live with dignity.”

Ajaero urged the government to take urgent steps to address these issues, saying, “We demand that the pains of today be transformed into a victory for the people through the implementation of policies that restore public transportation, end the electricity crisis, stop the killings and place the welfare of the masses above the profits of a privileged few.”

He further warned against suppressing workers’ rights, adding, “The use of state power to suppress workers’ rights, to silence dissent, or to impose austerity that benefits a tiny elite while crushing the majority is a betrayal of the very essence of leadership and negates the spirit of this season.”

Reflecting on the significance of Easter, Ajaero said the season symbolises sacrifice and redemption, noting that “the infinite love of God for humanity was demonstrated not in abstract words, but in the ultimate act of sacrifice; the giving of His only begotten Son; Jesus to break the chains of sin and death.”

He expressed optimism about the future of Nigerian workers, declaring, “Just as Christ emerged triumphant, so shall the Nigerian worker emerge from the grave of poverty, exploitation, and bad governance.”

However, he stressed that change would require collective action, saying, “That triumph will not however come by waiting. It will come through our collective struggle; through the organized power of the working class, through our solidarity, through our refusal to accept the unacceptable.”

The NLC president reaffirmed the union’s commitment to advocating for workers’ welfare, stating, “We will continue to work for a Nigeria where the wealth of the nation is used for the welfare of the many, not the luxury of the few.”

He concluded by extending Easter greetings to Nigerians and urging renewed commitment to justice and equity, saying, “Let this Easter be a season of renewed commitment to the cause of liberty.”