NLC’S Assault onTelecom Masts
In this country, many things absurd take place these days in frenetic paces. From the unending assaults of Boko Haram to the unabating slaughter of Fulani herdsmen, from the reel of executive terrorism on the parliament and the Ekiti election mismanagement to the psychological terror of Lagos truck drivers who had decided to demobilise other road users, I have never in all my life seen a nation so besieged as Nigeria nor a people so sedate and pliant like Nigerians.
But to add to the list of these malfeasances the blockage or even a threat to voice and data transmission via telecom masts and base stations is to taunt tolerance too far. What are all these stupid actions of Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) picketing of MTN offices about? Is it to press home the urgency of the demand of its aggrieved members who have labour issues with MTN, the South African-Nigerian business relation flagship, or to hurt the Nigerian economy? Or is it motivated by other objectives to punish some elements for any other reason other than just getting MTN management pay its aggrieved staff their claims?
There is an emerging trend in civil disobedience these days whereby some sponsored protesters now go beyond the rules of civil agitation as dictated by conventions in civic advocacy. Granted, an aggrieved worker can be frustrated to the point of physical expression of disgust at the system. But when it overbounds to criminal actions and sabotage of pubic assets, then the agenda of the agitators becomes another thing rather than the quest for financial settlement by its acclaimed debtors.
The NLC under Comrade Wabba by allowing his men tamper with telecommunication infrastructure like towers other than the top management personnel of MTN Nigeria it should be dealing with directly, has clearly overstepped their bounds. They are now threatening ordinary citizens’ right—the over 70 million subscribers of MTN’s voice and data services from enjoying the MTN services they prepaid for.
This is clear because MTN is not like any other ordinary public utility, but a private sector-funded multinational entity whose relationship with the Nigerian authorities and ordinary citizens touches on diplomatic and security implications between Nigeria and its parent country, South Africa. The truth is that here in Nigeria, we have what we call in local parlance—follow-follow mentality. Translated, it means our tendency to always want to walk the beaten path where we can easily pick up something without much heat. In other words, the tendency is strong for a kid to run back to the same spot where he had picked up a meaty snail without much hassles.