Labour Unions Locked-Out of Nigeria’s Presidential Election

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In the closest fought election in Nigeria's history, a powerful segment of Nigerian society, organised labour, has surprisingly been locked-out by both major candidates and both major parties. Just a few years ago, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) organized a nation-wide shutdown in Nigeria called #OccupyNigeria in response to current Jonathan-led administration's attempt to remove the “subsidy” on domestic oil prices. The protest brought Nigeria to a standstill and was one of the most effective collective action protests in Africa to date. Now just a few years later, they are completely muted in the incredibly close contest between the opposition candidate General Buhari of the All Progressive Congress (APC), and the incumbent President Jonathan. The question is, why has neither party been able to secure the support of NLC during this closely fought race?

Labour leaders have been at odds with the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of incumbent president Jonathan for the past 16 years. Nation-wide strikes have attacked their policies and forced concessions from the administration, dealing them public and embarrassing defeats. Labour also had major disputes with previous PDP presidents and administrations and successfully waged campaigns against them also. It is actually not that surprising that the ruling PDP and incumbent President Jonathan does not include organised labour as a core piece of their coalition in the upcoming election. It would likely be an insurmountable tasks, from the years of bad blood and bitter conflicts with labour for Jonathan himself to reach out to them in any tangible way to secure their support in the upcoming election. If anything he and his party should have been bracing for the impact of labour forming an alliance with the APC opposition.

The All Progressive Congress (APC), united opposition parties against incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP in his bid to win reelection in 2015. The group brought most opposition parties under one roof and using the united broomstick of the opposition swept through the ruling party securing defections of many sitting governors and lawmakers from under the umbrella of the ruling party. By doing this the APC united opposition presented itself as a formidable force actually capable of unseating the ruling PDP. From among its collection of candidates the APC selected General Buhari as their presidential candidate in December 2014 in Surelere Lagos. After securing the nomination the APC and Buhari launched a nation-wide campaign for the upcoming election. Till this day, organized labour is not part of their coalition for victory. Despite using the word “progressive” in their name why has the APC failed to bring organized labour into their fold? Perhaps even more significant, why has General Buhari himself failed to coopt organised labour into his campaign to unseat incumbent President Jonathan?

Buhari spoke at the NLC national convention in February in an attempt to woo delegates for support. At a separate forum organized by the TUC one of his aides promised that the APC would implement a living-wage instead of a minimum wage policy, which was more than what his PDP rival offered. However given that there does not appear to be enough money to pay for this empty promise, this has not swayed labour decisively into the APC camp or brought them behind the candidacy of the APC standard bearer General Buhari. The APC as a party has a mixed record with labour. Currently organized labour are protesting the Lagos State's government plan to privatise water, a move they say will raise the cost on average Lagosians and marginalize labour. Lagos State is run by the APC and a prominent supporter of Buhari, Governor Fashola. Despite paying lip service to labour, when it comes time to take a hard stance to support them, even when it means confronting his key supporters, Buhari has chosen to do nothing. It appears organised labour in Nigeria has taken Buhari's actions, or lack thereof, to mean more than his words. The APC agenda has not embraced progressive principles. While they once again pay lip service to the increased in wealth of the affluent in Nigeria, stating how the country is among the top markets for private jets in the world, they have provided no concrete policy stances of how they intend to redistribute wealth from the top. Buhari himself has also been mute on this and has said nothing about how he intends to tackle increasing inequality in Nigeria, choosing instead to focus all his attention and put all his eggs in the corruption basket. These clear inconsistencies demonstrate unequivocally that Buhari is not an ally of organised labour any more than the incumbent President Jonathan. When given the opportunity he will not fight for them.

Much to the delight of incumbent President Jonathan, Buhari and the APC has failed to enlist organized labour as a core ally in the upcoming election. Neither the TUC or NLC has endorsed a candidate, and neither group is actively campaigning to get out the vote for either of the major candidates. As Buhari and the APC are out trying to get out the vote in these last days, the failure of Buhari himself to decisively win over organised labour could prove costly. Labour's support would have been very useful to energize and sure-up support amongst the marginalized and apathetic electorate, many of whom are yet to decide whether or not they will even bother to brave the insecurity and violence to cast their vote. If the election comes down to the wire and Buhari and the APC find themselves on the losing side, there should be a lot of re-thinking and re-examining their reluctance to truly embrace progressive wealth redistribution policies and their failure to fight for organized labour and co-opt them into their campaign.

Kuranga and Associates Limited is an investment management advisory firm and an asset manager with a principle practice area of Africa. To learn more about Kuranga and Associates go to www.kaglobal.net. © Copyright 2014 David Kuranga. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

David O. Kuranga; Ph.D.
Managing Director
Kuranga & Associates Limited
Phone: 212.363.0936
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Articles by David O. Kuranga, Ph.D.