A review of Olu Abiala’s new book, Trade Union Movement and National Development in Nigeria: Memoirs of Labour Struggle by Tunde Laniyan.

It is the season of labour and thus, an appropriate time for the outing of the new book, Trade Union Movement and National Development in Nigeria - Memoirs of Labour Struggle by that intrepid leader of labour, Comrade Elijah Olu Abiala. It is proper, however, to start this piece from the recent war of nerves between Nigerians and their government over the palaver of oil subsidy removal. Well, Nigerians know by now that they must pay N97 per litre of petrol at the pumps after nearly two weeks of civil agitation, marked by protests, rallies and strike called by the central labour unions. The matter was resolved when labour called off the strike and rallies after the government was forced to reduce the pump price of petrol which had traded on the N135 to N190 band to which the commodity had risen following the New Year day bombshell of fuel subsidy removal dropped by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration upon Nigerians. It is to the glory of the labour movement that, whereas civil society had begun protests and rallies against the government policy shift immediately upon its announcement, the reaction became more potent when the leadership provided by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) ordered a work boycott by Nigerian workers. The Federal Government only announced a modification of its decision after negotiations with the central labour organisations.

Well, the story is well known and while it is not the reason for this write up it provides an apt take off for the panoramic excursion into Abiala's book and an insight into the contribution of this great trade unionist to labour struggle in Nigeria as well as his prescription for vibrant unionism so that it can continue to epitomise the desires of the people and be relevant to Nigeria's development.

Comrade Abiala is well positioned for this contribution to knowledge and the prescriptions he made having actively participated in the frontlines of labour struggles and endeavours at the national and state levels in Nigeria, including such defining moments as the June 12 struggle and the more recent resistance to attempts by government to "annex" the NUT to the government of Oyo State. The author is the immediate past secretary of the Oyo State Wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), and the state chapter of the NLC before retiring from service.

This 271-page book divided into seven chapters and five memoirs breathes the rigorous research, anecdotal recollections, well-spiced with wit and experience that the author brings into his second contribution to the collation of the labour culture and catalysts in Nigeria. He had earlier authored a book entitled Trade Union Laws and Practices in Nigeria - The Travails.

This new book provides snapshots in the history of the evolution of labour and the milestones of its contribution to democratic struggles in Nigeria.

Attempts by some state chief executives to emasculate labour and particularly the NUT are well documented for two states in the country. Chief executives of states, like Dr. Olusegun Agagu and Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala, erstwhile state governors for Ondo and Oyo states respectively, come up for strictures for donning the toga of potentates who because they were unable to get at the water in the pot, decided to break it. In their desperation to do this, these governors employed what could be termed as political "Weapons of Union Destruction (WUD)" not only to asphyxiate NUT by conjuring to life such illegal contraptions as the 'Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS)' in Ondo State and for Oyo State the 'Academic Staff Union of Secondary School Tutors (ASUSST)' petulantly believing that because they had spoken those structures had taken inviolate life to replace the legally constituted union, the NUT.

Tellingly, the book reveals the disappointment of the author with the odious roles played by some previous colleagues and professional teachers who not only egged on and supported government to follow this illegal path but at times actually served as initiators and active promoters of the effort to dubiously capture the union or dilute its leadership undemocratically through the use of threats including of bodily harm to officials and members considered not amenable to overtures by the governors and withholding of check off dues, disruption of properly organised activities of the union including devious attempts at hijacking NUT elections and imposing unpopular leadership.

For a full theatrical chronology of these events is it not well documented in the section containing the memoirs by the author? Here again we find a refreshing breath of fresh air to the image of state chief executives introduction of the praise worthy intervention of the current governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, the lroko himself, who provided the much needed refuge for the beleaguered Oyo State NUT and helped it to regain and maintain its integrity in the face of the withering onslaught of its own state's "baobab," which threatened to crush it. The urbanity, generosity and political sophistication displayed by Mimiko when approached by NUT officials in the state to come to the rescue of their colleagues in Oyo State has ensured that his name entered the book as a hero of the struggle. This typifies the disposition expected of occupants of high state office held in trust for the people.

Not unexpectedly, the author equally reserved kudos for another state chief executive, Comrade Adams Oshiomole, who as leader of the NLC at the renaissance of democratic rule in Nigeria, helped forge the currently acceptable image of the country's labour as a dynamic, well focused and people centred defender of the informal defenceless sector of the population playing very crucial roles in ensuring that government was not only held accountable but also largely refrained from embarking on anti-people policies such as petrol price hikes with impunity. His leadership of labour and agitations on the side of civil society the author documented led to the Electoral Reforms that brought about Nigeria's most credible elections last April 21.

One thing that jumps into one's mind as a person reads this book is that even for labour, leaders and members alike, any river that forgets its source will soon dry up to its own shame. The author, therefore, strives to ensure that his beloved constituency continues to be relevant to Nigerian workers and more especially that its integrity is not breached that it becomes irrelevant to the aspiration of ordinary Nigerians. The book affords the author the opportunity to point out some landmines that can derail labour and prevent it from deserving of the trust of the people that will ensure that it continues to be perceived as a dependable ally of the people. Now, with the book, the author has requited himself well to the people whom he served by sharing with them the benefit of his experience and high skills in labour matters.

As is in the Holy Bible and in the book of Chronicles, 'if anyone wants to know more about all these affairs ...of labour's contribution to democratic development in Nigeria and recent events particularly in Oyo State, including the roles of some actors in the attempts to capture the union ...are they not written in the Trade Union Movement and National Development in Nigeria - Memoirs of Labour Struggle.' Interesting times seem to be here again!