Unionism in Nigeria: A synonym for extortion?
By The premise of democracy and a civilian administration is the foundation of the rights of the people. What then becomes the lot of the system and the people when these rights are wilfully violated with no iota of regret? Perhaps the democracy at hand in Nigeria is shaky and has led to the non assurance of the people’s right. The people’s right now exists majorly in black and white but never in reality.
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As envisaged in various legal documents the human rights of humans are pivotal and sacred and should be treated as such without which the system is headed for chaos. Among these rights is the right to freedom of association and peaceful assembly. Though these rights are different, they are intertwined and mutually coexisting in most legal documents. The pivotal nature of this provides a place for it in article 23 paragraphs 4 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and also article 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This right is further enshrined in Article 10 of African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and also section 40 of the 1999 constitution. All the above legal documents have overtime been ratified in Nigeria and subsequently enforceable.
It is however ironical to say these rights do not really exist after plethora of cases has been decided by the court concerning this matter. In the celebrated case of Agbai v. Okagbue the court held that no one can or should be forced to enter, join or belong to an association which he doesn’t want to.
Recently people have been coerced by violence or threat of violence into joining associations after which they make dictatorial regulations such as telling them which day of the week to open or not to open their shops. They eventually succumb to it when a failed system is involved. If they try to obtain the use of police officers, this complicates the system as they will sue the accused on their behalf. However this is bad economic wise because the shop or office of the victim could remain under lock and key pending the decision of the matter which more often times than not takes forever. It is pertinent to state that any individual who joins an association voluntarily is bound by the decisions of the association.
The road transport union is also a source of disturbance for many Nigerians particularly in the South-west region of the country. These road union workers wilfully extort money from innocent commercial drivers and bus conductors who work to make ends meet and upon refusal to give the money they instigate chaos and violence delaying the movement of both the bus and the passengers.
Unionism has become a platform for massive extortion of individuals and even stealing and committing robbery. It is however alleged that a considerable amount of this people are touts and hoodlums whose major propaganda is to cause mayhem in the society. It is also alleged that several of these road unions work for the government.
The probable solution to this is for the government to create massive employment opportunities before disbanding these unions so as not to create another problem of insecurity arising from the idleness of able bodied men in the society.
Oluwapelumi Oluwafemi,
pelumifemi87@gmail.com
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