Ademola Adeyemo
13 May 2008
Lagos — Apparently worried by certain disturbing signals from the polity, president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Abdulwahab Omar recently tasked President Umaru Yar' Adua to ensure that the wishes of the people of Edo State, as expressed through their votes on April 14, 2007 governorship poll, are not upturned.
He had reasons for challenging the President to take full responsibility over any attempts to thwart the mandate of Oshiomhole. According to him, Yar Adua, being the President of the country and the leader of the ruling party, his body language could determine substantially the workability of democratic norms in the country. NLC's new fears might have been informed by the events of the last eight years.
Immediately the Edo State Election Petitions Tribunal ruled that Oshiomhole was the authentic winner of the April 14, 2007 gubernatorial election, NLC was upbeat and declared quite emphatically that the tribunal did a very thorough and honest job which it said reflected in the unanimous endorsement it received from all categories of the society. "We have interacted with a cross section of the Nigerian society, especially legal practitioners, retired and serving judges and scholars of international jurisprudence. And there is only one conclusion - with the sound quality of the judgment by the tribunal, we are optimistic that the judgment has all the ingredients to withstand an appeal," Omar said.
Many progressive Nigerians including lawyers and politicians also upheld Omar's comment. But during the 2008 May Day rally in Abuja, NLC suddenly expressed suspicions about the issue. Omar said ordinarily, the tribunal's verdict which declared Oshiomhole as the valid winner of the 2007 election, would have been very assuring, if the political class especially the ruling party would respect the wishes of the people and the judiciary. But it was not time to shout hurray. Labour appeared disturbed by what Omar described as Obasanjo's legacy of arbitrariness and subversion of the rule of law, which it alleged, negates all democratic norms.
Very worrisome to Labour was the perception that some Obasanjo's elements in the present government are still operating as if nothing has changed. "We salute the Edo State Election Petitions Tribunal for the thorough job on the petition of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole. As we have said, the judgment returning Oshiomhole was a vindication of the electorate of Edo State who overwhelmingly voted for our comrade.
"On the Edo State's case, we want to specially call on President Yar'Adua to prevail on his political constituency not to be tempted to sabotage the people's mandate. The case of Edo State will be the first real test for President Yar'Adua's willingness and capacity to accommodate opposition.
"Ordinarily, with the favourable ruling by the Edo State governorship election petitions tribunal, there should be no cause for alarm. However, we know that the do-or-die elements and their political children are very much around. This is evident in the fake rallies and fake clamours against the ruling of the tribunal being orchestrated by the outgoing governor of Edo State. We must say loud and clear that it will be dangerous for anybody to play pranks with the people's mandate in Edo State," Omar said. Omar told the press after the rally that it would have been difficult to approach Obasanjo's government to guarantee the rule of law, if the present event had taken place two years ago. He noted that with the courage and democratic tendency exhibited by Yar Adua, Labour was hopeful that the present generation may afterall witness genuine democracy under this government
According to him, Labour decided to place the issue on the doorstep of Yar Adua "because the election was freely won by Oshiomhole. Everyone, including the local and international communities are aware of this truth, confirmed by the tribunal. Secondly, in action and words, Yar Adua has proved to be a true democrat. I have related with him. Within the past few months, he has given labour and Nigerians the commitment of a man prepared to have a break from the Obasanjo style of politics and allow the people to determine their rulers. This is while we opted to co-operate with him especially in his political reform. I think he is reliable and trusted. In him, we have a leader we can count on. Together, we will join him to build a democratic nation of our dream," Omar said.
Expectedly, the response of PDP to Omar's declaration seemed to have proved that some politicians within the party, do not yet share Yar Adua's vision of good governance and entrenchment of the fundamentals of democracy. The Edo State PDP Publicity Secretary, Dr. Omo-Osunde Iyasere did not deny NLC's allegation that the party was still engaged in alleged fake rallies, among other undemocratic tendencies, but declared that Oshiomhole was also using okada riders. To Nigerians, Oshiomhole, the populist Labour leader, is one of the most cherished Nigerians today. He is hailed on the streets by many who are inspired by his activism. At the last May Day rally, the immediate past president of the NLC was given unprecedented heroic welcome by workers, retailers and politicians of all shapes including representatives of Yar Adua.
For complete 30 minutes, proceedings at the rally were stalled, as Oshiomhole was carried shoulder high around the Eagle Square. It took the intervention of the national leadership of NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the representatives of Yar' Adua to ensure that overjoyous workers allowed Oshiomhole to take his seat. Also, when he attended the wedding ceremony of one of Chief Tony Anenih's children in Benin, Oshiomhole, in the midst of thousands of members of the opposition party, virtually stole the day.
The questions many are asking include: Is Oshiomhole the kind of man that will organize a fake rally? Did he pay for the millions of workers, artisans and their allies that he led on the streets against Obasanjo's anti people's policies? Oshiomhole's mass appeal is not in dispute. He stood face-to-face with the evil machination of the military and Obasanjo's government. He fought for the people. He had a message that inspired all classes of Nigerians.
Like Abraham Lincoln or Winston Churchill in Britain, he understood the power of words to uplift and to inspire. He reached beyond partisanship to principles. That was the reason against all odds, he intervened in the first labour major dispute between the organised Labour and Yar Adua's government and ensured that the administration took off on a positive note. Moved by the positive actions taken by the present administration at the federal level, he appealed to Nigerians irrespective of party affiliations to support Yar'Adua.
At the peak of Obasanjo's alleged anti-democratic tendencies, Oshiomhole was firm on his position on issues. When many spoke of the fear of war and the failure of the government to provide for the collective good of the people and demanded compromise, he preached conviction. He rejected the politics of fear and division. Oshiomhole lifted the people with a vision of hope and shared purpose. In his case, Labour wants justice to prevail. And as the apex global workers' body, Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation, African Region said, the world is watching the turn of events in Edo State.
However, NLC and its allies, in spite of the antics of Obasanjo's elements, still have confidence that Yar Adua and the Nigerian judiciary would outsmart them and allow the will of the people to prevail. Certainly, this may just be a major test case of the nation's march to true democracy under Yar Adua.
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