The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has disclosed that it could mediate between the federal government and the Boko Haram sect currently threatening the country’s unity. NLC said if the government is truly concerned about the spate of killings in the country, it should reach out to those people and groups, including organised labour, which could assist in returning the much-desired peace to the country.
In its reaction to the most recent attack on a motor park in Kano that resulted in the death of scores of travellers and other users of the motor park, the NLC, through its acting President, Comrade Promise Adewusi, reiterated its readiness to meditate “in bringing this needless fury to an end. “We at the Congress wish to re-affirm our faith in an indivisible and in-alienable Nigeria where all can co-exist,” it said.
Labour condemned the attack calling it an unjustifiable act of horror. “It was cowardly and shameful and incapable of advancing any cause except evil. We at the Congress believe that no cause is worth killing innocent Nigerians for. “If motor parks where ordinary people use or eke out their daily living are no longer safe, where else could be safe?
“Yet we urge the people of Nigeria and citizens of other nations domiciled in Nigeria not to be intimidated or beaten,” the NLC lamented calling on all Nigerians to rise in unison and with common accord to preach peace and unity in the country.
According to NLC, the country is facing one of its most difficult moments but added that Nigerians should be hopeful that in the end, peace would return. “We call on every law-abiding citizen to be vigilant and forge a sense of community with their neighbour to overcome this temporary challenge.
“We also call on our law enforcement agents to rise to the challenge of combating terror and to especially focus on protecting defenseless and vulnerable people. To be able to do this successfully, our intelligence and security agencies need all the support they can get from government.
“In furtherance of the above, we wish to invite the government to as a matter of urgency do all that is necessary and explore all legitimate avenues to bring to an end this insurgency. We dare say this includes addressing the remote and immediate causes of this phenomenon, re- equipping our intelligence and security forces to be proactive and also be able to cope with new challenges,” labour said.
