 |
| Ikuforiji |
The Speaker of the
Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Sabit Adeyemi Ikuforiji has urged
Nigerian workers to be very pro-active and courageous, charging the NLC and the
TUC to see themselves as the
repositories of knowledge and intellect and that they cannot afford to leave
the enormous task of nation building to the politicians alone.
In his words,
''Workers' days have and gone with different theme year in year out, speeches
read, march past conducted, better employment rights demanded, strike action
threatened, government criticism laid bare, night laid bare, night falls, and
it's all over again! The same old circle continues with the same old prayers.
No changes! No Progress! Agitated demands unconsciously dissipate as if never
initiated. This year's theme reflects reality, it avails us the opportunity to
debate whether or not Nigeria is a Nation-state or group of cultures glued
together by ''sovereignty''. At this juncture of Nigeria's history, we must
start asking questions that reflect solution''
Speaking at this
year's May Day Celebration held on 1st of May at Onikan Stadium, Lagos, Rt.
Hon. Ikuforiji commended Nigerian workers for their contribution to national
development and the entrenchment of democracy in Nigeria, saying their
patriotic efforts can never be forgotten.
He urged the
workers not to rest on their oars and encouraged them to work hard towards
pushing elected public office holders to deliver their electoral promises,
charging them to always ensure that elected public servants keep their side of
the democratic contract. He also implored them to push for safety in their
respective places of work by remaining committed to safe practices in the work
place.
In a speech read
on his by the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Strategy, Security and
Publicity, Hon. Segun Olulade, Ikuforiji said that the problem of Nigeria is
not the failure of leadership alone as diagnosed by the late writer and
Pan-Africanist, Prof. Chinua Achebe.
According to him,
'Nigeria is the way it is, not just because it is yet to be blessed with
courageous, passionate, patriotic and truth-loving leaders but because we have
failed to play our part in making our country the envy of the world. Rather, we
have all become armchair critics, forgetting that criticising is easy but is
devoid of rationality…''
Ikuforiji
emphasized that criticism from workers and other stakeholders should be backed
with necessary action, adding that each individual worker can change the state
of the nation from his own desk by ensuring that he performs his duties
promptly, diligently and judiciously.
Responding to the
demand of the workers that the Lagos State House of Assembly should protect
workers from brazen casualization by private companies, Ikuforiji said that the
House is already working on the issue, adding that the House has even
reprimanded some companies that are placing workers on cheap labour.
The Speaker
assured the workers that the Assembly
will always protect the interest of workers in the state and in Nigeria as a
whole.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
0 comments:
Post a Comment