IN A DEFIANT growl that echoes from Paschal Bafyau Labour House in the heart of Nigeria’s political capital, Abuja, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said it has marked the one-year anniversary of the infamous arrest of its President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, not with silence, but with a powerful declaration of defiance against a state hell-bent on silencing the masses.
In a bold and searing press release, entitled: “WE REMAIN UNBROKEN”, signed by its Acting General Secretary, Comrade Benson Upah, the NLC cast a glaring spotlight on the Nigerian government’s relentless campaign of intimidation and political repression, vowing that the working class remains “unbowed, unshaken, and unbroken.”
The statement condemns September 9, 2024, as “a day etched in infamy,” when the Nigerian State, acting as the brutal enforcer for entrenched ruling class interests, descended on Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport to arrest and detain Comrade Ajaero. His crime? The audacity to speak truth to power.
“His ‘offence’ was daring to speak out against the abridgment of citizen rights, exposing the grinding poverty and exploitation, job insecurity, and deteriorating conditions of life in our country,” the NLC proclaimed, exposing the flimsy pretext of the arrest.
Noting that this act was not an isolated incident but a calculated escalation in a broader war waged by the state against workers, the poor, and any voice that dares to challenge a vicious neoliberal agenda, the NLC reminds Nigerians that the airport detention of Ajaero came on the heels of absurd and politically-motivated charges of “cyber crime, conspiracy and treason” levelled against its president, a clear attempt to criminalise dissent.
The Congress, as NLC is fondly called by workers and its affiliate unions, linked the arrest to an earlier, even more brutal episode – the savage abduction and brutalisation of Ajaero in Owerri, Imo State capital by state agents.
The press release pointed out that up to this day, not a single perpetrator has been held accountable, a clear indicator of a system that operates with impunity against its own people.
The ultimate goal of this repression, the NLC argues, was to isolate and suffocate the trade union movement symbolised in the prevention of Ajaero from attending a conference organised by the Trade Union Congress of the United Kingdom (TUC-UK).
“This act of harassment or political repression was not an isolated case but part of a broader war waged against workers and the poor. By preventing our President from attending the UK Trade Union Congress (TUC) conference in the UK, the State sought to silence the truth, shield capital and political elites from scrutiny, and isolate Nigerian workers from international solidarity. It was an attempt to whip labour into line so that neoliberal policies; privatisation, tariff hikes, subsidy removals, wage suppression, and casualization; could proceed without resistance,” NLC stated.
Noting that the ruling class miscalculated as their aggression did not breed the desired fear but rather ignited a collective rage.
“It was indeed a miscalculation by the ruling class as this action sparked a collective rage across the country. Though Comrade Ajaero was released at midnight following the threats of action from our unions, the arrest exposed the anti-worker character of the Nigerian State and provoked outrage both at home and across the global labour movement.
“Thus, far from weakening us, it underscored the central truth of history: every attack on the working class only strengthens our resolve to struggle. It gave the movement the required fillip to robustly engage in the protection of workers and people’s rights,” the release said.
It declared that at the sombre anniversary of the repression, the NLC’s message remains a clarion call to remind every Nigerian worker that “repression is the language of a system desperate to protect the privileges of a few against the needs of the many” symbolised in the ruthless taxation of the poor, reckless borrowing and looting of our collective resources.
The NLC stressed that Nigeria’s only redemption lies in collective resolve to speak out as the “answer is not then to retreat but to mobilise; not silence but louder voices; not despair but greater organisation.”
Issuing a direct call to action, the NLC urged workers, trade unions, peasants, youth, and all progressive forces to intensify the collective struggle against the neoliberal policies designed to impoverish the masses.
“As we mark the first one-year anniversary of this sordid event, the Nigeria Labour Congress wishes to remind all Nigerian workers that repression is the language of a system desperate to protect the privileges of a few against the needs of the many. As they tax us more, borrow more and appropriate our collective resources unto themselves, redemption lies in our collective resolve and efforts. The answer is not then to retreat but to mobilise; not silence but louder voices; not despair but greater organisation.
“We therefore call on workers, trade unions, peasants, youth, and progressive forces to intensify the collective struggle against the neoliberal agenda that impoverishes the masses within the limits of the law.
“One year after, we reaffirm the lesson of September 9, 2024: the working class is the backbone of democracy and social justice. Attempts to silence us will always fail, for our strength lies in unity, solidarity, and in our unbreakable commitment to the sovereignty of our nation and total security of our people.
“At every point in time, men and women who are able and willing to make the required sacrifices to engage the system to make our nation better must be encouraged. Such men and women require our collective support and protection which strengthen their hands to continue in their services to workers and the people.
“We must counter the narrative that seeks to divide us and to present us as irritants and trouble makers. We are patriotic citizens committed to the unity and greatness of this nation and a nation that works for all.
“On this note, we want to assure all Nigerian workers and masses that we remain unbowed, unshaken and unbroken.
“We remain resolute!”
