Comrade Bolum Martin Nwachukwu is the leader of the Delta State Branch of the Trade Union Congress (TUC). In this interview with the publisher, Jungle-Journalist.Com ThankGod Ofoelue, he highlights areas of conflicts between the government and the people.
Nwachukwu points out how organised labour in Delta State have been carried along by the government of the day since it cane to power, while enumerating the many failings of the Federal Government:
What kind of person can we say that Bolum Nwachukwu is?
A very simple man, a Comrade, a civil servant, Comrade Bolum Martin Nwachukwu JP, Justice of Peace, Delta State, a knight of St Mulumba, a Christian, with a simple family, with a simple background.
I am the Chairman of Delta State Council of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), I am also the chairman of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, Delta State Branch, and South South chapter. There are so many other callings, but we can’t mention all of them.
I am a man of the people, a man who stands out to look out for the welfare of the people, and of workers anywhere. That is my calling.
What is your relationship with the Delta State Government like?
Fortunately for us, we are lucky to have a governor who is labour-friendly, who does not wait for problems before solving them. We have never had a problem that is beyond him, right from inception, he made us a promise, that making payment of salaries is his priority. He has lived up to that promise.
In Delta State, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa pays salaries on or before the 26th of every month. Till date, he is not owing us. Areas of conflict, he tries to take care. We had issues with pensions, and when he came, he made arrangements for clearing the backlog of pensions. We had problems with pensions harmonisation, under him, we have been able to attend EXCO three times to discuss matters relating to pensions.
We were able to do the harmonisation and bring it up to date. So he is a very labour-friendly governor who believes in the welfare of workers. This is a governor who has given us the most befitting, and the most conducive working environment in the new Secretariat he has built for workers.
This is an achievement we have dreamt of, for so many years. When the minimum wage issue cane, he didn’t wait for us to fight. As soon as the thing was approved at the federal level, he set up a committee, and we had our committee, and we were able to get the minimum wage implemented the way it should be. He even gave us two months arrears.
So I will say our relationship has been a cordial one, we have been working as partners in progress, and trying to see that Delta State moves forward.
He believes in the workers, and the workers solidly believe in him.
What is your relationship with the Nigerian Labour Congress NLC like, in Delta State?
Very cordial, we are brothers, partners in progress. Conrade Oforbruku has been a brother, a friend and a colleague. In Delta State, we do what we call organised labour.
We don’t differentiate between the NLC and TUC. NLC and TUC and the Joint Negotiating Council (JNC), we work together. Whatever is happening in NLC, TUC is interested, and vice versa, so do we also work with the JNC. So we do things together and have always attained success, because injury to one is injury to all. Apart from that, we enhance common interest, that is what matters, this common interest as it affects the workers. Once it’s the workers interest, we drop our personal interest and make sure we get to the end.
You earlier told us that you have a very cordial relationship with the state government, you are aware that Nigerians generally have lost confidence in organised labour. So we want to know what your relationship with the people of Delta is like- do they see the TUC as a rallying point when issues come up between them and the government?
Fortunately in Delta State, we have never had a serious challenge. Unfortunately because national challenges, we have to take them up in Delta State.
So, not minding the good relationship we have with the governor, who handles whatever we tabulate before him, when it was time for us to call the people out, directed from national, we told the governor that this is a national call.
When the national minimum wage issue came up, there was an aborted strike. Delta State had the strike,not minding that we had already being promised, and we believed that the promise will be kept.
We told the governor that we had to go out and we did. We know that the people believe in us. You see, the problem in this country is that the people do not have anybody to speak for them anymore except labour. And labour has been overburdened and over saddled. Yes, we are the mouthpiece of the people as a pressure group, but sometimes, we are overstretched,but we are not complaining.
We are part of the people and we must do the right thing. If there is need for leadership, then we come in. The idea of organised labour first is for the welfare if the people.
Then some of the issues that affect the workers affect everybody, that is why you see us playing the front role, not to mention that the government of the day is such that they have seen us all (what is commonly referred to as ‘see finish‘).
Is that not why people are alleging that organised labour is compromised?
No. The issue is this, it’s not the issue of being compromised. How many strikes have organised labour organised that brought results? None. Some people say it’s compromise, but have they really looked deeper to see if it’s actually insensitivity of government towards its people?
In time past, when the people move, government shiver. These days when the people move, government says, let them go, in few days they will come back because they are hungry. What do you achieve then? Sometimes when you come out very hard and the people are insensitive, you look for other means of getting it.
We have decided to apply a new way of getting across to government. But people do not understand it. They are so used to this fight, fight, fight.
What is this new way?
The new way is complete use of what we both know. Bring to the table facts and figures. Inform the people. I don’t call it propaganda, I call it information sharing. Let’s take for example, the last protest we were about doing, government was waiting. When we called that we were going to hold a protest on 27, government sat back because they thought it was going to be as usual.
But what did we do? We decided to bring in facts and figures, sensitise the people themselves, give them facts and figures and make it difficult for even government to resist. We enlightened the people so much that government understood that if this thing is allowed this time, it’s not going to be business as usual.
We quietly told government that we will start the protest, and we will allow it to be taken over, because it was no longer labour issue. It’s the issue of everybody in Nigeria needs to be liberated. You cannot pass this burden to the people, and they have no option than to push it off their head. The truth is this, you have refused to do the right thing, and you want to steal from the people, the pockets that are already leaking. It’s terrible. The last time they said they want to use 3 trillion to pay subsidy, we told them to give us facts and figures, they don’t have it. Those facts and figures ought to be there.
Nigeria is sick. If you remember when Dr Ibe Kachikwu was the Minister of State for Petroleum, he gave us a programme. It was a workable programme. He gave us facts and figures, time bound. He went to the National Assembly to defend it, shortly after that, he was removed. Where is that plan of action? Where is that programme?
You see, Labour cannot do the work of government, we can only talk. Labour does not have gun, we don’t have stick, we don’t have catapult, all that we have is mouth, to mobilize. That is what we are using more now. When you go out and protest, you keep the people hungry. When the people are hungry, they ignore you outside there. #EndSARS came and they saw what mass mobilisation can do, and where it was leading.
Even at that, did they really do what they were supposed to do? So, we have to change strategy. Sometimes it is easier to rubbish a man’s reputation than to give him a punch. When you rubbish a man’s integrity even when he is pretending, he feels the pain inside. That is what Labour is doing now.
We didn’t tell them what we want to do, they read in between the lines. What we said is that they should go and do the refineries and informed the people that refineries are workable in the country. We have passed the level of, I no gree I no gree, no. Government is used to that. It’s only a government that is sensitive that you tell that.
These ones are ready to see you crying and say e go soon wipe him tears. Look at doctor’s, lecturers, judiciary, how many years of constant strikes? How long are we going to keep doing the same thing?
We now inform the people. The protest will now come from the people, not from labour. When you raise the people to do the protest, it becomes a mass action, that is what government cannot resist.
Government does not feel the pain. They don’t buy gas, petrol, kerosene. Everything is given to them. They don’t even buy food, that is why they can afford to move with 40 cars in their convoys, filled with petrol we pay for.
Even their salary, they don’t know what to do with it. Everything is provided for them. Until we change the psyche of the people, for the people to rise and see these people as criminals, things will not change, and the time is now.
To be continued…