The Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai has increasingly being
in the news lately, as Nigerians continue to scrutinise his claims of
being a democrat. El-Rufai vs NLC: Kaduna Governor comes under scrutiny in aftermath of faceoff with Labour
Though Kaduna has always been in the news largely due to insecurity
that pervades the State, resulting in mass abduction of students and
killings especially in the Southern part of the State, the events of
last week, seem to have more than ever, put the former FCT Minister
under the spotlight.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) had mobilized workers in Kaduna
State for a five-day warning strike to protest the mass sacking of
workers by the el-Rufai administration, especially the planned sacking
of seven thousand workers from the state’s local government areas
workforce.
Though planned by labour to be a total strike that will completely
lock down both social and economic activities in the State, Governor
el-Rufai did not know how effective and crippling the strike could be
until it took off. THE RESTORATION OF BIAFRA NATION
True to labour’s plan, Kaduna was shut down! Electricity was gone,
banking stopped, transportation both by air and rail halted while
workers from every other sector, including health and education stayed
away from work, both in the private and public institutions.
Alarmed by the crippling effect of the strike, Governor el-Rufai,
though pretending to be unruffled, tagged the NLC and its leaders
economic saboteurs and declaring them wanted. He went a step further to
order the blanket sack of all nurses in the state from grade level 13
downwards and also threatened to sack lecturers of the state university
if they failed to show up for work, among other workers in the state.
For many Nigerians, el-Rufai was simply power-drunk and behaving like
an emperor over a conquered territory in a democracy. His actions and
utterances before and during the strike, many believed, brought to the
fore, his real nature and disposition to governance, wondering how a
governor can unilaterally declare leaders of the NLC, especially its
President, Ayuba Wabba wanted, and declaring that he would be tried
under the Miscellaneous Offences Act.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) was
especially piqued by the attack on the protesting workers by hoodlums,
who wielded weapons to disrupt a peaceful protest embarked upon by the
workers. El-Rufai vs NLC: Kaduna Governor comes under scrutiny in aftermath of faceoff with Labour
SERAP, in a statement on Tuesday by its Deputy Director, Kolawole
Oluwadare, called for an immediate end to the growing crackdown on the
protesting workers.
“Kaduna authorities must respect the human rights of Nigerian
workers, and ensure the safety and security of the leaders of the
Nigeria Labour Congress.
“Declaring NLC leaders ‘wanted’ simply for peacefully exercising
their human rights is antithetical to the Nigerian Constitution of 1999
[as amended] and the country’s international obligations.
“Authorities ought to protect workers from attacks by thugs. Allowing
thugs to disrupt peaceful protest by workers is illegal and
unconstitutional.
“Using thugs to attack peaceful protesters is a crime against
humanity. Authorities need to find out who was responsible for the
assaults and punish them appropriately.
“Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai should immediately reinstate
Kaduna State University lecturers and nurses unlawfully dismissed for
allegedly joining the strike in the State.
“We’ll hold Governor Nasir El-Rufai and Kaduna authorities to account for the blatant violations of human rights. THE RESTORATION OF BIAFRA NATION
“We’ll see in court if the lecturers and nurses are not immediately reinstated.
“We urge the UN human rights special rapporteurs to put pressure on
Governor Nasir El-Rufai and Kaduna State to immediately end brutal
crackdown on peaceful protesters.”
For the former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission,
Chidi Odinkalu, the Kaduna State Governor does not have the power he
purported to have exercised in declaring labour leaders wanted.
Odinkalu further stated that the actions and inability of the
Governor to govern Kaduna peacefully, has shown that he cannot rule
Nigeria, adding that el-Rufai has failed in his primary responsibility
of protecting the people of Kaduna, declaring that he has been operating
as a lawless entity.
He said: “The law that deals with economic sabotage is a federal law,
state governors don’t enforce federal laws except they have the
permission of the Federal Attorney General to do so.
“Secondly, governors don’t have the power to declare people wanted,
only security agents can do that. Thirdly, in most cases, to declare
people wanted, you need court authorization. The courts have been on
strike for almost two months.
“It takes a lawless person to take laws into their hands and declare
people wanted. The NLC president is in Kaduna and he is not hiding.
“El-Rufai is not the military, he cannot rule by edict. He cannot
operate as a lawless entity. He is endangering Kaduna and the entire
country.
“The real tragedy is that he has the ambition to rule Nigeria.
El-Rufai cannot manage this country. Woes beget Nigeria if El-Rufai has
the opportunity to rule this country.
“His occupying public office should end in Kaduna State. We are going to make sure that his presidential ambition fails.”
Also, in his reaction, human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, mocked
el-Rufai, describing as laughable declaring the labour leaders wanted
and saying he would try them under the Miscellaneous Offences Act.
According to Falana, Wabba and other labour leaders have the right
under the Nigerian Constitution and the Trade Union Act to participate
in the peaceful warning strike and mass protests.
Declaring that the Governor lacks the power to declare any alleged
offender wanted under the Act or any other law whatsoever, Falana called
on the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies to ignore
El-Rufai’s declaration as it is not tenable in law.
In his reaction, a former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu,
faulted Governor el-Rufai for not engaging labour constructively before
things degenerated. He also frowned at the attacks on workers and called
on other labour unions in the country to join hands with labour in
order to show the people of Kaduna solidarity.
He said: “Now that it is turning violent, this is the time for other
associated labour unions to get involved to show solidarity to the
labour people in Kaduna such that the government will now be forced to
engage labour in a manner that is constructive.
“Sending thugs to start harassing labour unions’ leaders and their
members is completely unacceptable. It shows that we are not actually in
the 21st century. As leaders, sometimes we have to take
responsibilities, we also have to show restraint in the face of
provocation, that is what leadership is all about.
“We should not be behaving like thugs or sending thugs to go and
dispatch people who are protesting, especially when it is not violent.”
For the Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria, Governor
el-Rufai is nothing but an anarchist for allegedly sending thugs after
protesting workers.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by the National President of the
MHWU, Dr Biobelemoye Josiah, the union called for the reinstatement of
the sacked nurses and a public apology to labour. It also called on the
people of Kaduna State to note that day, Tuesday as a black day in the
history of the State so as to deny Governor el-Rufai any further
opportunity to hold an elective post.
The union said: “So, for Mal. El-Rufai to sack workers whose only
offence is that they chose to serve their fatherland faithfully and
diligently with all man-made inconveniences is most unfortunate. We are,
therefore, angered that even in the face of this deprivation, we are
being provoked and humiliated.
“Let it be known to members of the public that peaceful picketing is
guaranteed under section 43 of Trade Union ACT CAP T14 LFN 2004. This
position of the law has been affirmed severally by the superior courts
of record up to the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
“We particularly call on all workers and citizens of Kaduna State to
tag Tuesday, 18th May, 2021 as a sad day for democracy and a day of
mourning when an elected governor threw away the constitution he swore
to uphold and embraced thuggery.
“We call on the entire citizens of Kaduna State to particularly
remember this day so that when this same man comes calling to beg for
votes to go to the retirement home of former governors – the senate or
for any other elective position, he should be rejected outrightly as
there is no room for anarchist in a democratic society.”
From several reactions, Nigerians tend to agree that the Kaduna State
Governor has behaved more like a dictator than he has shown any
democratic qualities. For many, even his handling of the security
situation puts him out as a man set only in his ways that cannot be
bothered by anything else.
A Lagos based Public Affairs Commentator, Chidi John, believes that
whatever traits the governor has shown during the now suspended warning
strike, has always been his nature since his days as the FCT Minister.
According to John, el-Rufai has always shown his tendencies for
dictatorship, just as he believes only his own views are right!
“Governor el-Rufai has remained constant, he has not changed. What
has only happened is that he has come full circle by showing his true
colours. He has displayed his person, which many of us have always
known, especially those who followed his activities during his days at
the FCT.
“Nigerians must also remember that in 2008, the Nigerian Senate
declared him unfit to hold public office, but somehow, the same man is
in his second term as governor and even aspiring to be President.
Imagine if he is President and labour or even ASUU decides to go on
strike and shut down the country the way Oshiomhole did as NLC President
under former President, Olusegun Obasanjo. Imagine the kind of flow of
blood we would have. Imagine how the prisons will be filled to the brim.
Imagine the highhandedness he will display. But for some of us, it will
not be new, he has always been like that,”, John said.
