By Ayo Kehinde
On Wednesday, members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), alongside civil society organisations, staged coordinated protests in Lagos, Abuja and Enugu, demanding urgent government action to address worsening insecurity across the country.
The demonstration comes less than 24 hours after NLC leaders held a late-night meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja to discuss labour-related concerns, including security challenges facing workers nationwide. The decision to proceed with the protest suggested that the meeting did not produce assurances strong enough to halt the planned action.
In Abuja, protesters gathered at the NLC secretariat in the Federal Capital Territory before marching under a heavy security presence. Personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Department of State Services (DSS) were deployed to monitor the procession. The protesters later moved towards the Federal Ministry of Finance as part of the demonstration.
NLC President, Joe Ajaero, was among those present at the secretariat, alongside leaders of various labour unions and civil society organisations, including activist Omoyele Sowore, who joined the action in solidarity with organised labour.
In Lagos, protesters converged early at the Ikeja underpass, carrying placards and chanting slogans calling on the Federal Government to put an end to violent crimes and kidnappings.
Some of the placards read, “Federal Government, No More Excuses and Rhetoric, End Insecurity Now”, while others demanded better protection for workers and the general safety of Nigerians.
The Lagos protest attracted several civil society groups, with participants wearing NLC-branded aprons as they marched under the bridge, drawing the attention of commuters and passersby. The demonstrators accused the government of failing to match repeated assurances with concrete action.
“We have had enough of empty promises. Our members and Nigerians are tired of living in fear. The government must act now”, the protesters chanted.
Meanwhile, in Enugu State, the NLC chapter also embarked on a protest led by the state chairman, Comrade Fabian Nwigbo, who expressed concern over the deteriorating security situation in the country. He lamented the rising cases of violent crimes and kidnappings and urged the government to take decisive steps to safeguard lives and property.
Nwigbo stressed that Nigerians, particularly workers, deserve to live and work in safety without constant fear, adding that the persistent insecurity was affecting productivity and livelihoods.
The NLC stated that the protests were part of a coordinated nationwide action aimed at drawing attention to the growing insecurity and pressing the government to take immediate and concrete measures to address the crisis.
In Gombe, workers converged at the office of the Deputy Governor in a convoy of vehicles, where the State Chairman of the NLC, Yusuf Bello, formally presented a letter addressed to Governor Muhammadu Yahaya.
The NLC letter, titled “Why Workers Are Protesting Against the Rising Wave of Insecurity in Nigeria and the Way Forward,” highlighted two decades of persistent insecurity marked by banditry, kidnappings for ransom, and terrorism, which have displaced millions and disrupted economic activities, particularly in agriculture.
“Statistics on the destruction of schools and healthcare facilities, killings and abductions of workers, and the mass displacement of professionals, especially in the North-East, show the devastating toll insecurity has taken,” the letter stated.
