Babalola: Strike By NLC will Be Calamitous
Olaoluwakitan Babatunde
Aretired Deputy Director of the defunct Department of Petroleum Resources, Engineer Sunday Babalola, has urged the federal government and the organised labour to avert the impending strike.
He said the strike threat by the Nigeria Labour Congress, if not averted, could plunge Nigeria into deeper economic woes and more hardship for Nigerians.
Babalola said strike would further dislocate businesses and lead to unquantified financial losses and reduce Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product.
He urged the FG and labour to dialogue, adding that labour should not go ahead with the strike.
Babalola also called on the FG to display fidelity to its promises to Nigerians and agreement with labour as a way of averting the strike and cushioning the hardship Nigerians have been plunged into since the removal of petrol subsidy.
Babalola, who is a former Kwara State governorship aspirant, told Nigerians that the current hardship will not be permanent.
He urged them to only spend on essential things and cut costs.
Babalola said,” We should be patient. This hike will settle itself out. When they removed the subsidy on diesel, we were buying diesel for about N1000 per litre. But right now, it has come down to N600 per litre.
“Nigerians should also be sure that whatever is happening now is temporary. It will abate. I want to assure Nigerians that hard times never last but tough people do. The hard times will, without doubt, go ahead.
“I want to advise Nigerians to cut costs from those things that they are doing that are sincerely not necessary. For somebody you want to call and discuss something, call the person on the phone and not you must see the person. There is a saying that ‘talk is in the eye.’ You do not need to see the person before you talk. So cut unnecessary expenditure. If and do those things that are truly necessary, everything will eventually stabilise. It is better for us to go through this than for us to pretend that we are doing subsidies whereas a few are embezzling the nation’s treasure.
“The marketers should import the refined product. It is now an open system. I want to advise everybody that this thing is not one-way traffic. So many things will be affected by what we are doing now. The exchange rate will affect it, oil prices will affect it.
“The government should just be focused and do the right thing. They have the facts. They have the data. My advice will be based on what we read in the newspapers and hear on the television news. But the real advice is if you have the raw data and you analyse it. Then you can give proper advice. But on the surface, they should be focused. The issue of palliative of subsidy should be totally de-emphasised because we do not have good statistics that will clearly show who is getting what. So, we will be enriching a few people.
“A few years ago, we had pensioners’ money eaten and some people who are there are still looking for a way to make money out of government. They will just raise a few people or the same set of people who will now find ways to corner the money. Even without NIN, there are fake accounts. You can see it because a lot of people are still doing 419.
“The labour should sheathe their sword because, in a turbulent environment, you cannot think of a solution. What will the government give to the workers? If you add N10,000 or N20,000 to them, how much effect will that have on the school fees? How much effect will that have on food, even water they drink? We are not creating or doing the things that will actually help the people. Even if I have ideas for business now, so many things will come to play. Where will I get the capital?
“They should think about what will help the generality of the people and not what will help 30 per cent of the people because everybody that is a salary earner today may not be more than 30 per cent of the population. What happens to the remaining 70 per cent?
Both the FG and Labour should avert this strike. They should sheathe their sword and come together and think together. How can we help the populace and not how will we put more money in our pockets that inflation and exchange rate will eat away and at the end of the day, they are virtually back to square one?
“Govenrment should be serious with its promises. Government should create a good environment for business. That is what the government should be thinking about now. Nigerians are not lazy, Nigerian are hard working and they think. When there is no environment for them to manifest their prowess, what they will do is start looking for other ways to make money and that is what caused 419.”
Babalola also said it is morally wrong and insensitive for members of the National Assembly to allocate N70 billion as palliatives for themselves.
He warned against creating another avenue for a few people to amass the nation’s wealth at the expense of the masses.
He said he is opposed to the $800m World Bank facility to Nigeria, which its request by President Tinubu had been approved by the Senate because corruption could creep in the distribution of the fund.
He urged the government to create a good environment that is enabling for businesses to thrive.
