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There is breakdown in communication, says Momoh
Former Information Minister Prince Tony Momoh says there is need for effective communication
STRIKE is always the last resort where there is no dialogue. Everything can be resolved through dialogue. The world would have no problem if we have proper communication. All the problems of the world arise from lack of communication or improper communication. Anytime you have effective communication, there is no problem so if people are embracing strike it is because there is breakdown in communication and lack of communication.
Is strike effective as a tool in resolving the problem?
Strike is effective incidentally for the simple reason that you have strike, meaning there is a fault in the communication channel. And when you go on strike there is a record, that a strike has taken place. If you are lucky, you can now begin to look at not the effectiveness of the strike but is the perspective or implication. It would not be described as effective if you go on strike today and all the markets are open, buses are running, traders are selling, and banks are open. The strike could be effective if the banks are closed, if PENGASSEN and NUPENG are not working, if the airports are closed.
People should be looking at the effectiveness of strikes from the perspective of the effect it has on the economy. The banks are closed, fuel is not being lifted, petrol stations are shut down, people stay at home, earnings for the employer pay the employee are not forthcoming. That is the effectiveness of strike, and most importantly, there was a recording that there was a strike. So when you see people walking about it does not mean that a strike is effective.
As stool, has it be made government see reason with labour?
It is not for labour to see reason with government or for government to see reason with labour, it is for the channel to open. As a matter of fact there ought to be proper consultations before any major decisions are taken because we are stakeholders in the Nigerian enterprise. If for instance, you have marketers increasing prices of fuel and the thing was not dismissed or communicated properly, and the people were not even aware as it were, then someone is sabotaging the economy.
Ghana, which depends on Nigeria for its crude oil supplies has refused to hike its local price. The management of the economy cannot be left to market forces. It has not happened anywhere in the world. The truth of the matter is that an economy is making it or not through how well the people are catered for. Any thud to their welfare is a minus to the managers of the economy.
Outside dialogue, what other options?
There is no substitute for dialogue. Deregulation is necessary and it is inevitable. But I am surprised that when you have such a serious issue, we do not have a corresponding increase in information management. If dialogue fails, many options are there. There is explosion, and revolution can follow. What labour is doing is even a blessing.
Government must find explanations for its economic policies. How much do you give to the National Orientation Agency and others? How much communication do you have with labour, civil society, employers, manufacturers etc?
Even if you pump all the money into palliatives and people do not know that money is there nothing is going to work. Unless people know what you are doing, you are doing nothing. That is why thing we need effective communication. It is like teaching, unless the pupil is learning, the teacher is not teaching. Unless people all over the country know what government is doing, government is not doing anything.
The president is well meaning but people don't know what he is doing.
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