The July 16 reintegration of the United Labour Congress (ULC), into the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), is a salute to common sense, an act of sacrifice for workers’ common cause and an ode to solid institutional building. It reinforces the age-old cliche: united we stand, divided we fall.
Still, from the personal experience of Joe Ajaero, of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) and former president of the short-lived ULC, it is perhaps a piquant Churchillian lesson: better to jaw-jaw than to war-war!
Ajaero, in a huff, stormed out of NLC as deputy president — no thanks to a disputed delegates election that truncated his NLC presidency dreams.
After this rapprochement, he is returning to the NLC, again as deputy president, from the ULC presidency. Given his status quo ante-bellum return, has the gain been worth all of the pain?
Nevertheless, Ajaero could argue — and correctly too — that the attraction wasn’t personal but the collective decision of the piffed 25 NLC union affiliates that broke away from the NLC, to form the ULC, and later elected him president.
Ajaero was general secretary of NUEE, but outgoing NLC deputy president. In the disputed election of March 2015, however, Ajaero, with 1, 140 votes, lost to incumbent, Ayuba Wabba, who polled 1, 685 votes.
But the protesting unions alleged rigging; the winning ensemble would have none of that; and the centre fell apart.
But it’s to the credit of both factions, with the laudatory sacrifice of the Ajaero group, for the cause of a central Labour centre, that they have embraced conflict resolution for a common cause.
It’s really exciting that Labour is singing a new and harmonious song, after a five-year conflict: “Committed to the bond of brotherhood and solidarity which the Labour movement all over the world is known for,” Labour chimed, “the leadership of the NLC and the leadership of the ULC kept aglow the light of peaceful relations towards resolving their misunderstanding as the two leadership resorted to direct discussion aimed at ending the rift…”
Bravo! Other bodies should emulate this conflict resolution spirit.
But more importantly, actions that push bodies and institutions to the brink should be avoided. Nigeria faces the plague of collapsed institutions, particularly among political parties and trade pressure groups, because there is little or no internal democracy.
In the bullying majority’s bid to muscle the cheated minority (or even vice-versa) the bodies feud to the death — and fissure.
As a democratic movement, Labour should take allegations of vote-fiddling very seriously. That was the charge that drove this crisis and put NLC asunder for some five years.
Now that reason has prevailed, and the dissenting natives have returned, NLC must ensure such allegations never rear their heads, not ever again, in future delegate elections.
While still on that: it appears both factions have realised the futility of going each other’s way and fragmenting their power, of influence and mobilisation. Perhaps the NLC, basking with the majority of union affiliates, enjoyed government recognition.
But the former ULC too boasted powerful unions, like the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), NUEE and others that come in handy, when the chips are down for a major central Labour dispute push.
While both have recognised their mutual dependability, the elixir to maintaining unity is fairness to all.
The political parties, primary drivers of democracy, should learn a lot from this Labour rapprochement. If they embrace the NLC reconciliation spirit, perhaps there would be less defections at virtual election eves, over alleged lack of fairness in the intra-party processes, to elect party candidates.
The fairer these processes, the surer the loyalty to party principle and ideologies across the board and the more vibrant and sustainable the party — and democratic — culture.
With such a changed mindset, the omens for democratic institution-building — and strengthening — should be better. That, in itself, would strengthen Nigeria’s democratic culture.
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