Former President says Soviet and U.S. influence forced reforms that birthed the Nigeria Labour Congress, urging workers to resist “invisible robbery” of inflation and unjust taxation.
Abuja: Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has revealed that Nigeria’s labour movement was once heavily dependent on foreign funding during the Cold War, a situation he said endangered national sovereignty and weakened independent decision‑making.
Speaking at the 85th birthday celebration and memoir presentation of former Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Hassan Adebayo Sunmonu, Obasanjo—represented by ex‑NLC President and former Edo State Governor, Senator Adams Oshiomhole—recalled how rival labour organizations aligned with opposing global powers.
According to him, one faction received support from the Soviet Union’s KGB, while another was backed by the United States’ CIA, creating deep divisions within Nigeria’s labour ranks.
He explained that the foreign influence prompted deliberate reforms to end external control and internal rivalry, eventually producing a unified labour structure firmly under Nigerian leadership.
This process, he noted, culminated in the establishment of the Nigeria Labour Congress as a single national body.
Obasanjo urged Nigerians to stop lamenting economic hardship and instead organize collectively against unjust policies. “If it is wrong, fight it. Justice is not won through tears or emotional speeches,” he said, stressing that workers’ rights have historically been secured through organized struggle rather than appeals for government sympathy.
He recalled that Nigeria’s first national minimum wage was achieved through sustained labour pressure, describing it as a safeguard for workers without bargaining strength. But he warned that inflation and currency devaluation have eroded earnings, calling the trend an “invisible robbery”.
On taxation, he argued that low‑income earners bear a disproportionate burden: “People below a living threshold should not be taxed.”
Obasanjo called for stronger alliances between labour unions and civil society organizations to push progressive reforms.
NLC President Joe Ajaero echoed the concerns, criticizing new tax laws and Nigeria’s mounting public debt. “Policies made without labour deepen poverty and weaken democracy,” he said.
Book reviewer Dr Matthew Kukah, Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, urged leaders to embrace service, integrity, and moral responsibility. He described Sunmonu’s memoir, Organize, Don’t Agonize, as a reflective account of discipline, sacrifice, and commitment to workers’ welfare, while lamenting Nigeria’s unfulfilled national aspirations. “This book explains why Nigeria’s greatness remains a dream deferred,” Kukah said.