The first attempt by the various trade unions to form a central organization was in 1975 when Comrade Wahab Goodluck was elected its first and as it turned out, its last president. The attempt was ill fated as the congress broke up as soon as it was formed. Later in 1976, the late
General Murtala Muhammed, then Nigeria‟s head of state set up the Justice Duro Adebiyi tribunal to probe all the existing trade unions and their leaders. The tribunal‟s report led to the promulgation of Decree No. 15 of 1977 which banned eleven veteran trade unionists, including Michael Imoudu and Wahab Goodluck. The ban remained in force for ten years until the then President Babangida lifted the ban on 1st May 1987.
In 1977, the Obasanjo military administration also dissolved all the labour movements in the country. The government in their place appointed a Sole Administrator to oversee their assets, re- organise the about 1,100 unions into a manageable number and work for the formation of a new central labour organization. This was the background to the formation of the Nigeria Labour Congress on February 28, 1978. Decree No. 22, which established the congress provided for 42 industrial unions to be affiliated to it. The government also gave a take-off grant of N1 million to enable it kick-start its activities.
The Babangida regime encouraged and promoted divisions within the NLC leadership to provide a pretext for it to intervene in the congress. The Congress played into the hands of the government when the „social democrats group led by Takai Shamang and the „marxists‟or progressives faction led by Ali Ciroma could not reconcile their ideologically based differences.
In the exercise of power conferred on him by the National Economic Powers Decree No. 22 of 1985, President Babangida reacted by dissolving the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress.
The government needed to take this drastic step to disable a body that was perceived by it to have the organization and mass appeal that could likely stoke the fire of opposition to its planned Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) and other anti-peoples‟ policies of the administration.
The government appointed Mr. Michael Ogunkoya as Sole Administrator of the central labour body. The Sole Administrator piloted the affairs of the NLC for about ten months during which the labour body was treated as a parastatal of the federal government and thus converted into a willing apologist of its policies. An election was later held and government‟s vested interest led to the emergence of Comrade Pascal Bafyau as the new president of the NLC. Bafyau was at the head of the NLC until the end of Babangida‟s administration, especially during the critical stage of Babangida‟s transition programme, at a period when a pliant and supportive labour union was considered strategically necessary and politically expedient by the government. But the national uproar generated by the annulment of June 12 1993 presidential election and the struggle against the action as well as the clamour for its validation forced the NLC to parted ways with the government and to switch its support for the Nigerians masses who saw the June 12 1993 presidential election as a watershed in the country‟s electoral and political history.
Self-Assessment Exercise (SAE) 3.4
Evaluate the contributions of the Nigerian Labour Congress towards the formation of the Labour Party of Nigeria (LP)
4.0 SUMMARY
In summary, our discussion in this unit centered on the political role of pressure groups in Nigeria and their relevance as linkage devise between the masses and the government. It was revealed in this unit that the organized labour, a major pressure group in Nigeria was a platform
used by the nationalists to engage and confront the colonial regime. After independence they continued with this political role by agitating against a plethora of issues such as electoral malpractices, unpopular public policies and misrule by different governments in Nigeria.
5.0 CONCLUSION
The role of pressure groups in the promotion of good governance and sustenance of democracy cannot be over emphasized. The history of Nigeria from colonial era till date is replete with the political and engaging activities of pressure group, along with other civil society organizations which perform related functions. It is not an overstatement to say that the history of Nigeria will be incomplete until a deserving place is allotted to pressure groups and their activities. If different governments in the country had been pre-occupied with destabilising pressure groups, or suppressing their activities it is only because they are yet to appreciate the complementary role these groups play in shaping people‟s oriented public policies.
6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENTS (TMAs)
1. Assess the methods by which pressure groups could successfully play the role of the opposition movements under a military regime
2. Mention the measures available to the Pressure Groups in influencing public policies that is considered most impressive
4. Examine the relationship between the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Nigeria Labour Party (NLP)
7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING
Appadorai, A., (2004). Substance of Politics, Oxford University Press, London
Ball, R.A., (1979). Modern Politics and Government, Macmillan Publishers England. Jordan, S.
J. (1978). Government and Power in West Africa, Ethiope Publishing, Benin City Lapalombara (1974). Political Parties and Political Development, Princeton, J., and &Weiner, M.,
University Press, Princeton
Lipson, L. (1964). The Democratic Civilization, Oxford University Press, New York
Mbah, M. (2007). Foundations of Political Science, Rex Charles & Patrick Publication, Enugu.
Schumpeter, J. (1943) Capitalism, Capitalism and Democracy, Harper& Row, New York
UNIT 4: THE STATE AND NATION: CHARACTERISTICS AND FUNCTIONS