BY AKINROPO OLUFEMI
SUNDAY EDITORIAL – 08/06/2025
” In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing – Theodore Roosevelt.”
In over a decade, I rarely search the dictionary for ” meanings “. Whenever I do, I’m definitely reading Editorials authored by a revered senior colleague in journalism. His name is Professor Farooq Kperogi. More often than usual, whenever he’s pontificating with his delineation of wonderful rhetorics in sentences, rendition of poetic recitals during clarification, and using of grammatical locutions, many of which are evidentiary nightmares for his readers, everything points to nothing but that : professor Kperogi is an alien with gifted hands and whose oratory skills as a writer can only be compared with Shakespeare’s.
This time around, while I was searching for the exact adjective I could use to qualify the evil brothers masquerading as NLC and TUC, apathetically, I was compelled to consult my lexicon. I was actually searching for the exact word to describe the heinous tendencies of the NLC and TUC officials. After 10 mins, I came about a word, which would eventually make my day. It was “rapscallion”. While I could have qualified the officials of the aforementioned union duo with any adjective, and without remorse, sobremly, I opted for rapscallion. I did because a rapscallion is the most deceptive and dangerous human on earth. ” Advanced Learners Dictionary” defines a rapscallion as ” a disreputable or mischievous person, often used in a somewhat humorous or playful way”.
The greatest misfortune that could befall an average mortal is to trust, and also believe in the assessment of an enemy masquerading as friend. It is a perilous voyage ; only few had survived the accompanying aftermaths, many of which are often known to lead to a mirage of catastrophic consequences like misery and even death. When a reasonable man is lead by a known enemy, without being told, he should innately open his eyes lest he falls.
Akinropo.
Sadly, history has shown that it takes a man with a discerning spirit, a celestial consciousness, and an eye that can see beyond the stratospheric layer, before he could decipherably clarify the abhorrent intention of an enemy pretending to be friend, and also leading as a leader. As it stands, the colloquial myth depicts the exact journey of extermination the duo of NLC and TUC are leading Nigerians to under Tinubu’s administration. So far, and from all indications, if Nigerians continue to trust those barbarous leaders (NLC and TUC officials ) camouflaging as messiahs, and keep trusting their fatuous comments after collecting bribes from whoever God knows, then, a replica of what happened to Nigerians during the civil war wouldn’t be far-fetched in few years to come. But this time around, unlike ethnicity and the battle for supremacy which primarily facilitated the civil war in 1967, hunger and insecurity would be the architects to send Nigerians to armageddon under Tinubu’s administration. Or, is there a difference dying by firing squad and hanging?. Perhaps, there is none apart from the fact that, the victim’s body would be intact after execution should the later be adopted.
Initially, it was expected of everyone who had been following the history of NLC and TUC leaderships since inception, to have an unyielding conviction that, the immediate past NLC and TUC presidents, Ayuba Wabba and Bobboi Bala Kaigama respectively, would turn out as not only the most villainous labor leaders Nigerians had ever witnessed, but also the most inhumane of all, comparatively.
During their regimes as leaders of NLC and TUC, Buhari was not only feeding on the fleshes of Nigerians like a cannibal ; he was practically feasting on their hearts and drinking their blood for leisure. Whilst the duo and their fellow rogues and accomplishes masquerading as labor leaders were feeding fat from the crumbs of Nigerians’ skeletons dropping off Buhari’s table, lucky Nigerians, many of whom never knew how they survived those Mephistophelian ordeals, could only watch helplessly like a warthog whose testicles had just been bursted open by a pack of wild dogs. Somehow, Nigerians survived a Nebuchadnezzar whose penchant for killing them was precipitated by their own leaders. For Ayuba and Kaigama, Buhari was free to suffocate every Nigerian – all that mattered was for commission to be paid to their pockets on every life slaughtered. And just like that, Ayuba and Kaigama are billionaires, and their generations wouldn’t experience poverty and misery they ( Ayuba and Kaigama) inflicted on over 150 million Nigerians, many of whom could barely feed themselves.
Personally, I went to church to celebrate after Ayuba Wabba relinquished his position as the NLC chairman in February, 2023. I had thought his successor would have a plethora of nociceptors ; hence, he should be able to detect Nigerians’ pain, and subsequently show clemency on their livelihoods. Unfortunately, Joe Ajaero has proven to be a beelzebub with no iota of blood flowing through his vein. Alongside his counterpart and eternal partner in crime, Festus Osifo of the TUC, they have both ensured Nigeria continue to tilt towards totalitarianism. They have ensured Nigeria becomes the capital of poverty and hunger in the world. They have created a fertile ground for nepotism and disenfranchisement. Under their hideous noses, a liter of fuel was increased by over 500 percent ; inflation is almost at 35 percent ; cost of living has increased by over 300 percent in some cosmopolitan cities ; etc.
Obviously, it looked as if after secretly agreeing with the Tinubu’s administration to choke life out of an average Nigerian, they (Ajaero and Osifo) came out shouting like hyenas to Nigerians like soldiers and crusaders ready to sacrifice their lives for posterity, and on numerous occasions. Initially, after Tinubu came on board in 2023, Ajaero particularly played some sublime, terrific, and phenomenal scripts for Nigerians – for them to see him as their hero. Many Nigerians were unsuspecting of his theatrics as he outmaneuvered almost everything and discreetly indoctrinated everyone into believing he was beaten and battered by some unscrupulous elements in his home hown, Imo state. Sadly for him, it was never meant to persist as the real djinn inhabiting his soul was eventually unveiled, and indisputably.
How much does Tinubu owe Ajaero and Osifo for choosing to watch lackadaisically in the last two (2) years without opting for uncompromising measures in a bid to salvage Nigerians from the hurricane ravaging their bodies and spirits economically, physically, medically, emotionally, etc?. It’s a rational permutation afterall. INEC and judiciary won the election for Tinubu ; Ajaero and Osifo are the ones keeping him in office. While the duo continue to do the biddings of the president by ensuring their fellow Nigerians suffer irreparable damages tantamount to death, and also crippling them by asphyxiating their throats just as Tinubu wanted, they (Ajaero and Osifo) continue to smile to the bank and living a lavish lifestyle none of their contemporaries anywhere in the world could risk. Together, they’ve learned the nitty-gritty of betrayal from their predecessors, Ayuba Wabba and Bobboi Bala Kaigama. Presently, they have not only bastardized the sacramental ethos of unionism – a fundamental obligation which mandates them as union leaders not only to be selfless, but to always adhere to the slogan : ” an injury to one is an injury to all “.
Ajaero and Osifo, and their fellow executives, are living on earth like a first-class citizen. They don’t have human sympathy. They have mastered from their predecessors a series of dissembling gimmicks encapsulated in treachery and deceit. All they do occasionally is to come out to rant like a scurry of squirrels, threatening to go on strike to force the government to avert its anti-people schemes ; only for their voices to dissipate into the thin air after envelopes might have exchanged hands in kangaroo meetings.
While Osifo’s traitorous contributions haven’t been particularly startling due to his snaky antecedents, Ajaero has proven he’s a lethal black mamba from within, but effortlessly playing god, and corruptly. First, instead of castigating the government for the removal of fuel subsidy without carrying along other key stakeholders (including NLC and TUC), they decided to limit their threats to only verbal ; not action. Again, instead of clamouring for a reform by forcing the government to reverse its impish decision barring the time all necessary palliatives would be made available, they hastily sanctioned Tinubu’s decision. They knew Tinubu cannot be trusted with his words on palliatives, yet, they chose to remain aphonic without actions. Today, after exactly two years in office, the same Tinubu hasn’t fully paid the 35k wage award he promised Federal workers as palliatives to alleviate their agony. Whose fault?.
Second, Tinubu decided to float the naira, remove subsidy on electricity, and also decided to play some clandestine games over the new minimum wage. Till date, both Ajaero and Osifo haven’t been able to force Tinubu’s administration to reverse any of its anti-people blueprints. After over 18 months of back and forth, an impediment which ensured all federal workers were paid just 4 months wage awards during the process, a new minimum wage was imposed ; not implemented. Right now, every federal worker regardless of his/her level gets a mere 40k as addition to his/her salary. Surprisingly, NLC and TUC haven’t said nothing about it. They continue to pretend as if they never knew. Why would they comment on it?. The truth is non-negotiable. Both Ajaero and Osifo are Tinubu’s agents, and are bent on protecting him more than their fellow Nigerians they are representing. Workers in the “states” are presently earning more than Federal workers, yet, we claim to have labor unions?. Ajaero and Osifo should walk naked in the busiest metropolises and ask Nigerians for forgiveness. They have inflicted a pain more potent than a lead injection on Nigerians.
Third, both Ajaero and Osifo have ensured Tinubu sleeps soundly in Aso rock every night. All he thinks about is 2027 election. Why wouldn’t he sleep?. Tinubu knows that, as long as the pockets of the evil twin brothers continue to flow with billions, the sky is his limit and 2027 general election is all but secured. Only the two of them can roar and Tinubu wouldn’t sleep ; not the 200 millions Nigerians. Otherwise, in a saner clime where Ajaero and Osifo haven’t compromised, wouldn’t Tinubu and his associates be more bothered about fixing the economy than campaigning ignominiously for 2027 general election?. Tinubu knows only two civilians can instigate Nigerians against his nefarious policies. Coincidentally and fortunately for him, just like INEC, legislatures, and the judiciary, the two civilians are also in his pocket. As far as Tinubu is concerned, the votes of those 200 million Nigerians are inconsequential ; the supports of those two alongside his principal rescuers (INEC and judiciary) at the 2023 general election, would prove pivotal. Tinubu is the most fortunate and happiest man on earth, and it’s all thanks to the roles and scripts Ajaero and Osifo are playing.
” We shall win only by working together – Gnassingbé Eyadema.”. Sadly, even the union leaders in the lower cadres are watching Ajaero and Osifo, and intently. Just like Ajaero and Osifo, they also want to become billionaires. They now know they can’t be billionaires if they work together with Nigerians and their fellow workers. It’s evident across all institutions, organizations and parastatals. Apart from the new ASUU chairman, prof. Chris Piwuna, other national union leaders have remained largely tight-lipped. Federal University workers and their sisters in the Polytechnics and Colleges of Education don’t collect salaries until after 40 days, yet, the national bodies of SSANU, NASU, NAAT, SSANIP, and COEASU, haven’t taken a decisive action to liberate their members. Why would they?. Just like Ajaero and Osifo, they also want to buy mansions in Paris and London ; they want to drive 2025 SUVs ; they want their children to go to Harvard and Oxford ; they want to have billions in their domiciliary accounts; and they wish to contest for higher positions and sit at the table of the president. Hence, whatever Ajaero and Osifo aren’t doing, they also must not risk. To them, emulating the two evil brothers is their surest way to acquiring mammoth wealth. It’s called tactics. While other Federal workers in other institutions had money to felicitate with their families during the recent Eid-el-kabir celebration, Federal institution workers across Nigeria could only lament excruciatingly, without being paid the salaries worked for.
Aren’t Ajaero and Osifo working behind the scene for Tinubu’s emergence in 2027?. Shouldn’t Nigerians expect them to go extra length for Tinubu’s re-election in 2027?. More ridiculous but not impossible, would Ajaero and Osifo lead a mandate for Tinubu to have a third term and stay in Aso rock beyond 2027?. He who pays the piper dictates the tune. Whatever Tinubu wants, Ajaero and Osifo must do unhesitatingly.
Nigerians are not persecuted by the government ; their supposed leaders and saviors (Ajaero and Osifo) are responsible. The earlier Nigerians realize the duo of Ajaero and Osifo must be forced to relinquish their respective offices, or another credible union is established to fight for their rights, the better!!.
Would Nigerians have been more persecuted under Tinubu’s administration if there was no labor union at all?. If there was no union, probably Tinubu would have been more careful with his approaches because he knows Nigerians might revolt at anytime. But, with Ajaero and Osifo leading the charge, and Tinubu knowing Nigerians wouldn’t go agog and haywire unless the duo call for it, baba in aso rock can only be concerned about 2031, not 2027. Tinubu is an old man afterall, shouldn’t he be sleeping every night?. He doesn’t need diazepam to sleep ; Ajaero and Osifo are his sleeping pills.
(Akinropo Olufemi writes from Ibadan. He’s a writer and poet)