The travails of Ajaero: Sacrifice in humility ( 3)

HE has chosen not to mess up and betray the public trust especially that of workers who collectively chose him as the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress ( NLC) without any opposition. When I read his acceptance speech in the media; one of the things that struck me the most was his avowal to God; “that if ever he will use his position as the NLC president to enrich himself and family, that God should deal with him and not allow him to become the President” I shuddered when I read that and I marveled at the level of this commitment that a man can make before God and man! Thus far, he has not disappointed.

Immediately after engaging the government on the Petrol price hike, his residence in Lagos got burnt. Nothing came out of that building as all of us read in the media except his Bible and his certificates. Fortunately, no life was lost in that mysterious fire which no agency of government has been able to explain to Nigerians how it happened. Regardless, I am sure that Nigerian workers and masses took note of that incident but some of us suspected that the battle had been joined by fire. We knew that more was to come. Ajaero continued soldiering on refusing to be deterred and performing his duties without being fazed.

We were therefore not surprised over the Owerri, Imo state abduction and brutalisation meted out to him under the supervision of the Police, whose head and leaders were at that time wining and dining with the Governor in the town. Nigerians are worried that the nation’s number one law enforcer will be in a state where such action occurred without showing an immediate outrage and response rather than the lukewarm denial and lethargic steps taken which to my mind amounted to a botched attempt at a coverup.

It was obvious that there was a high level of collusion within the ranks of government to inflict such injury on innocent citizens including the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress.

Owerri was a demonstration of his continued commitment to the protection and defense of the rights of workers who the state Governor had held captive with their leaders hounded out of the state thus unable to offer them any meaningful protection.

A state where workers were owed years and months in arrears of salaries and where the governor believes in the use of violence in the conduct of Governance. He and the NLC leadership had patiently engaged the Governor since 2021 and for months in 2023 allowing the Governor to dictate agreements which he the Governor eventually failed to implement.

The moment the Organs of the NLC and TUC had taken the decision to go to Imo state after some comrades were beginning to insinuate that he was favouring the Governor, I personally knew that he was going to lead the struggle himself. He was therefore left with no other option than to lead workers to fight for the protection of their comrades in the state. He had to lead from the front as usual not minding the cost to his person. He knew that for him to successfully rid the nation of the abuse and violation of workers’ rights, he must start from home. Charity, they say, begins at home!

The violence meted out to him was a continuation of the sacrifice which he has always been prepared to make both as a Journalist with the Vanguard Newspapers, a General Secretary of NUEE and now as President of the NLC.

When I commiserated with him over the phone, he says that he is more than ever encouraged by that incident rather than weakened as he has remained more committed to the struggle for the emancipation of the rights and privileges of workers in Nigeria, I have a feeling that he is prepared to make more sacrifices to ensure that his objective of a stronger NLC and the trade union movement in Nigeria is achieved.

His journey from the Police Clinic, Owerri where we were told he was dumped after brutalisation, to the Federal Medical Centre ( FMC) Owerri to Turkish Hospital Abuja then, to Eye Foundation also in Abuja and finally to Canadian Specialist Hospital rather than weaken him must have toughened him. With what I know about him, his resolve is already strengthened and he will be strategising with his team for a more robust engagement with all parties. It will be a battle of those who lay false claims to the struggle for June 12 and the genuine ones who combed the nooks and crannies of the nation mobilising Nigerians for the restoration of M. K. O Abiola’s mandate.

My fear for him at times is whether those who are in his team are able to match his pace and commitment. I am also worried that the Nigerian state under Tinubu has become more anti- people and this will put the government at daggers drawn with the Ajaero that I Know meaning that there will be more ferocious battles ahead.

How fierce these battles will be is dependent on how the Government is able to tone down its belligerent bent and relate with the NLC under Ajaero within the principles of Social Dialogue rather than the present use of brigandage and violence which may have unfortunately become their instrument of choice.

Ajaero is a seed that is willing to die to give life and the funny thing though is that he does all of these with great humility not expecting applause or plaudits from anybody but is always satisfied when results are achieved for workers and the people. He remains the right kind of leader that Nigeria needs at this time and that is why people like us have taken keen interest in his leadership qualities. Our prayer is; may he succeed in making NLC stronger so that with that, we can hold government accountable thus create a better Nigeria.

Having watched his trajectory all these years, noting his consistency on the side of the down- trodden and much more his humility to willingly offer himself at all times as a sacrifice for the cause of workers and the nation, I pity any government that is under the illusion that using the Police and thugs to inflict violence on him will deter him.

He is a man of conviction and is willing to make the required sacrifice to ensure that his overall vision of a fair and equitable nation built on the protection of the rights and privileges of the masses and the vulnerable is achieved.

The only way to dissuade such people is through dialogue. Once you are able to marshal a superior argument to his, Ajaero will capitulate so, I advise the President and his handlers and other leading players in Government at all levels to be prepared to robustly engage the NLC under his leadership with credible facts marshalled in an unassailable manner.

Trying to intimidate him or bring him unto subjection by sheer use of state power will be counter – productive as it has already proven.