Strike: Ogun Worker Slumps, Dies During Briefing
James Sowole in Abeokuta
Tragedy struck the Ogun State chapter of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) as one of the striking workers identified as Comrade Sunday Ogunjimi suddenly died while waiting for further directives on the ongoing indefinite strike embarked upon by the union in the state.
Ogunjimi died after he slumped at the state Secretariat of NLC, located along the M.K.O. Abiola Way in Abeokuta, the state capital where the striking workers had converged, waiting for the NLC leadership to give further instructions as to whether the strike should be called off or not.
Source at the hospital told journalists that Ogunjimi was pronounced “dead on arrival” by the doctors on duty at the Federal Medical Center (FMC), Idi – Aba, Abeokuta where he was rushed to for treatment after slumping at the Lemme Secretariat of NLC.
Until his death, it was gathered that the deceased, a former Chairman of National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) in Odeda Local Government was a primary school teacher, who actively took part in the 5-days old industrial action embarked upon by workers to press home, their demands for a better condition of service from the state government.
Prior to the incident, the NLC State Chairman, Comrade Emmanuel Bankole had invited the striking workers and informed them that the Friday’s meeting of the union’s leadership with the state government would be deadlock and that members should by Monday the 4th of July, continue with the strike.
Bankole disclosed that he decided to move out of the meeting to address the gathering crowd of workers that the state government was not likely to acceed to the workers ‘ demands on the strike, hence he choosed to leave the venue of the meeting to address the workers.
But while Bankole was addressing the workers, the atmosphere, was highly charged and angry looking comrades, who had earlier alleged that their union leaders had sold out, became uncontrollable and in the process, some facilities at the NLC secretariat were destroyed in the ensuing violence that later erupted.
A detachment of the operatives of the State Security Service (DSS), earlier drafted to the NLC State Secretariat at Lemme were angrily sent back by the agitating workers, who insisted that they could handle the situation by themselves.
