A QUIET but determined effort by comrades in Borno State to have the late iconic President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ali Chiroma, immortalised is being threatened by an alleged powerful labour group based in Abuja and Borno State, sparking concerns of a hijack of the historic honour, well-informed labour sources have disclosed.
The powerful group, allegedly led by a labour Suzerain, instead of joining the Borno Comrades to lobby for the renaming of the College of Health Technology, Maiduguri as “Comrade Ali Chiroma College of Health Technology, Maiduguri,” is allegedly behind an elaborate plan to hold an event in Abuja described as “A Day of Tributes in Honour of The Late Comrade Ali Chiroma”.
Impeccable sources in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, confided in National Record that a collective, under the aegis of “Comrades of Late Comrade Ali Chiroma”, is on the verge of formally accomplishing the quest to rename the state’s College of Health Technology in Maiduguri after the late labour leader, who served as the second NLC President from 1982 to 1988 and was reportedly the first principal of the institution.
According to documents and internal communications obtained by National Record, the collective has successfully lobbied the Borno State Government for the honour.
In a formal request to Governor Babagana Umara Zulum, the group highlighted Chiroma’s immense contributions to the Nigerian labour movement and democratic struggles, proposing the college’s renaming as a fitting tribute.
Their advocacy bore fruit. The state government is believed to have accepted the proposal, and an Executive Bill to that effect was sent to the Borno State House of Assembly to amend the College of Health Technology law, seeking to rename it the “Comrade Ali Chiroma College of Health Technology, Maiduguri.”
The legislative process moved swiftly. Radio broadcasts from Borno State Radio Television (BRTV) in early October confirmed that the House of Assembly had received the bill, referred it to the Committee on Health, and subsequently passed it after due consideration.
The Clerk of the House was directed to produce clean copies for the governor’s executive assent, the final step to make the renaming official, believed to be just days or weeks from now, if the labour suzerain fails to truncate the effort, via a parallel event being organised in Abuja.
Sources within the Maiduguri camp view the Abuja event with deep suspicion.
In a blunt internal communication, entitled, a member of the Borno Comrades expressed fear that the “forthcoming event on the late Comrade Ali Chiroma [is] meant to hijack Borno Govt’s Effort,” a framing suggestive that the “Day of Tributes in Honour of The Late Comrade Ali Chiroma” is a strategic attempt to either usurp credit for the immortalization of the labour icon or distract attention from its historic significance.
“They want to hijack [our effort],” the communication states, adding: “We have submitted the renaming of the College of Health Technology after him; the Bill is going to receive [a] 3rd reading. They are aware,” being reference to the willfulness of the plot.
The communication and prevailing concern of the Borno comrades, National Record gathered, are to alert some participants of the Abuja event who might be unaware of the ulterior motive of the plot for the Abuja event.
They urge all well-meaning labour organisations, especially unions, and specifically the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), which the iconic labour leader belonged, to openly endorse the Borno State Government’s move, suggesting a strategic counter to what they perceive as a hijacking attempt by external actors.
When contacted, a labour source in Abuja who preferred anonymity stated that the Abuja event is merely a separate, national honour for a figure of Chiroma’s stature and is not intended to undermine the Borno initiative.
However, sources in Maiduguri remain unconvinced, believing the timing and nature of the Abuja tribute are designed to create a narrative that the push for immortalisation originated from federal-level pressure rather than from the grassroots efforts of his home-state comrades.
With the bill awaiting Governor Zulum’s signature, the late Comrade Ali Chiroma’s legacy is now at the centre of a quiet tug-of-war, underscoring the deep political undercurrents that often accompany the posthumous honour of national figures.
