- OBJ Reveals Cold War Labour Proxy Wars; Hails Sunmonu As Model For Union Renewal
A MAJOR national symposium has drawn direct lines from Nigeria’s tumultuous labour history to its contemporary crises, issuing a powerful call for a renewed, militant, and strategic unionism modelled on the legacy of founding Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Hassan Sunmonu.
The event, centred on Sunmonu’s memoir “Organise, Don’t Agonise,” became a platform for historic revelation, tribute, and urgent critique.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, represented by ex-NLC president, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, unveiled how Nigeria’s pre-NLC labour movement was a proxy battleground for global powers.
He revealed that during the Cold War, rival factions received funding and direction from either the Soviet Union’s KGB or the United States’ CIA.
This external dependence, Obasanjo argued, fractured national cohesion and threatened Nigeria’s sovereignty, necessitating the deliberate reforms that culminated in a unified, sovereign NLC.
Against this backdrop of past division, Sunmonu’s leadership was celebrated as the definitive model for a resilient, independent, and effective labour movement.
Sunmonu’s Model of “Developmental Unionism”
In a keynote address, Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas, AU High Representative for Silencing the Guns, outlined Sunmonu’s career as the blueprint for “developmental unionism” — a seamless balance of militant activism and institutional nation-building.
Chambas highlighted Sunmonu’s technical prowess as an engineer, his strategic discipline during critical actions like the 1981 general strike, and his pan-African leadership.
This legacy, Chambas noted, shifted labour from mere protest to a legitimate policy actor, opposing government’s harmful Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) while advocating for development rooted in social justice and African self-reliance.
Calls to Action and Critique
The symposium also reflected on present-day battles, with Obasanjo urging Nigerians to move beyond lamentation, declaring: “If it is wrong, fight it. Justice is not won through tears.”
He decried the “invisible robbery” of inflation and an inequitable tax system, calling for stronger labour-civil society alliances.
Echoing this, current NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, criticised new tax laws and unsustainable debt, warning that policies crafted without labour input deepen poverty and weaken democracy.
Leadership, Integrity, and a Dream Deferred
Reviewing Sunmonu’s memoir, Bishop Matthew Kukah of the Sokoto Catholic Diocese, framed the event as a lesson in service versus self-interest.
He described the book as an accessible reflection on Sunmonu’s discipline and sacrifice, noting that this also explains “why Nigeria’s greatness remains a dream deferred.”
The dominant message from the event was clear: Sunmonu as a metaphor for credible leadership, organisational integrity, and strategic collective action embodied in the logic of unionism – a symbolism captured by the creed – “organise, don’t agonise” – a clarion call for securing workers’ rights and national progress.
