LAGOS—CATHOLIC Archbishop of Lagos, Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie has said that any attempt to muzzle, dismantle or disband the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) will be tantamount to reverting the country’s democracy to a totalitarian regime, just as the Federal Government denies plans to ban the outfit as a result of recent incessant industrial crises over the deregulation of the down stream sector of the oil industry..
Reacting to the bill sent to both arms of the National Assembly on the NLC, Cardinal Okogie reminded the rulers of the popular saying that the peoples voice is God’s voice (Vox Populi Vox Dei).
He warned that any attempt to tamper the labour structure as presently constituted may plunge the country into anarchy and chaos.
Cardinal Okogie pointed out that the labour organization is a respected institution all over the civilized world, sacrosanct and untouchable by the establishment
He said the NLC was always on the street protesting because of government’s hard stance and refusal to listen to alterative ideas and opinions.
Cardinal Okogie called on the legislators not to allow themselves to be used as rubber stamp to endorse the NLC bill, adding that even the judiciary, which is expected to be the last hope of the ordinary man, has lost credibility
He reminded the president and his advisers to always remember that Nigeria is too large a country to be pocketed by an individual and his cohorts.
He declared: “This country belongs to the masses and not to a handful of selfish individuals. Any attempt to silence the opposition will not do the government any good, ours is a democratic nation.
Speaking in an interview in Lagos during the week, the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Professor Jerry Gana said the government believes in democratic principles and will not venture into anything that will derail the democratic process.
He was in Lagos to represent the president at the Methodist Church Nigeria N5 billion fund raising ceremony for the establishment of Wesley University of Science and Technology in Ondo, a model tertiary institution described by the prelate of the church as the Harvard of Nigeria.
Asked why the president is seeking to outlaw the NLC, Prof. Gana said: “No, Mr. President has no intention whatsoever to proscribe the NLC. For what? We are now in a democracy and one of the tenets of democracy is the freedom of association.”
The former Minister of Information and National Orientation maintained that “the government will never prevent people, civil societies and labour to associate,” adding “the only thing Mr. President and the National Assembly are saying is that the time has come after democracy to democratise relationships and not to force anybody to be in a union against his/her conscience.”
He averred that “the law that was done under the military made it compulsory, whether you like it or not, to belong to a labour union, but under a democracy that law is out of tune. You have a freedom of association and that is what we are trying to do.
“That we are going to outlaw NLC, no. What we are saying, let Nigerians who are in labour union freely associate. If they still want to associate the way it is let no one teleguide them,” he said, adding “whether you like it or not the law that President Obasanjo made when he was military head of state, that law is unconstitutional and undemocratic.”
Prof. Gana appealed to Nigerians to be patient because the government means well for the generalty of the people of this country, adding that no matter how we look at it there is no way the NNPC will be able to cope with volume of petroleum consumption in the country.
He said the stakeholders are meeting with a view to resolving the intractable oil crisis because, according to him, nobody wants to hold this nation to ransom.
“In the final analysis it is not really anything anybody should hope for. I want to assure you that everybody is working very effectively to allow this government to fashion a way forward for the nation,’ he said.
“We appeal to labour leaders, civil societies as well; all of us together must come together to solve this problem,” he added maintaining that all the groups, labour, oil marketers, government, oil tankers and everybody should join hands together.
