Former President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and former Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, has urged Nigerian workers, civil society groups and citizens to abandon lamentation over economic hardship and governance failures and instead organise collectively to confront policies and systems that perpetuate injustice, poverty and insecurity.
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Oshiomhole made the call while speaking at the public presentation of the memoir of late labour icon and former NLC President, Hassan Sunmonu, titled Organise, Don’t Agonise.
He said Nigeria’s labour history clearly demonstrated that no meaningful gain was ever conceded by the state out of sympathy, but won through sustained struggle, organisation and collective action.
“If it is wrong, fight for it. If you know it is wrong, fight for it. Don’t lament it,” Oshiomhole said. “We don’t win justice with tears or emotional speeches. Those who benefit from injustice don’t give it up out of goodwill; you have to organise and force change.”
Recalling key milestones in Nigeria’s labour history, the former labour leader said the introduction of the national minimum wage was not a benevolent act by the government but the outcome of pressure exerted by organised labour, which compelled the state to legislate.
“Minimum wage was not granted out of love; it was an admission by the state that things could not continue as business as usual,” he said.
“When ₦125 was introduced and legislated, it laid the foundation for every subsequent wage struggle.”
Oshiomhole stressed that the minimum wage was never designed as a benchmark for responsible employers, but as a protective floor for the most vulnerable workers.
“Minimum wage is not meant for well-organised employers or governments to celebrate themselves,” he said. “It is meant to protect those in sweatshops, those without walls, those without power. Governments and organised private sector employers are supposed to pay above it through negotiation.”
Drawing parallels between past and present economic realities, Oshiomhole warned that inflation, currency devaluation and structural adjustment policies had steadily eroded workers’ incomes without officially cutting salaries.
“That is what we called invisible robbery,” he said. “Without touching your pay, your wages are destroyed through devaluation and structural adjustment. They said there was no alternative. But everything has an alternative. Even life.”
He also criticised what he described as structural injustice embedded in Nigeria’s tax system, arguing that the poorest workers often bore the heaviest burden.
“Anybody earning below a living threshold should not be taxed,” Oshiomhole said. “But if we don’t get our facts right, those who benefit from injustice will say we don’t know what we’re talking about.”
On the rule of law, the former NLC president cautioned against equating legality with justice, recounting instances where activists were brutalised by security agencies and subsequently charged for offences committed against them.
“Justice and judgment are not the same,” he said. “Law is only as good as the quality of minds that make it. When the law is unjust, you must fight it. Bad laws are not the Bible or the Quran; they are the aggregation of the views of those who rule at a particular time.”
Oshiomhole called for stronger alliances between the labour movement and progressive civil society organisations, insisting that meaningful reforms only occurred when both forces worked together.
“We work better when we stand with the progressive segment of civil society,” he said. “That was one of the greatest lessons of our struggle.”
Looking ahead, he urged Nigerians to channel their frustrations into political and civic organisations ahead of the next general election.
“We will not agonise over the death of democracy or the collapse of security; we will organise,” Oshiomhole declared.
“We will challenge this government and all those that come after it to provide security, justice and dignity for Nigerians.”
Reflecting on the personal costs of activism, he recounted how years of arrests, detentions and absences from home took a toll on his family, particularly his children, underscoring the sacrifices required in the struggle for justice.
Describing Sunmonu’s book as more than a memoir, Oshiomhole said it was a practical manual for younger generations on courage, tenacity and principled struggle.
“This is not about money; it is about values,” he said. “It is about reminding the younger ones that nothing meaningful is handed to you. You must organise, stand firm and fight for it.”
Also speaking at the event, human rights lawyer and activist, Femi Falana, said Sunmonu had lived a fulfilled life and charged the current leadership of the NLC to emulate his legacy by driving a labour movement capable of reclaiming Nigeria for its people.
“This is one of the best countries in the world, yet 62 per cent of Nigerians have been classified as multidimensionally poor,” Falana said. “NLC, your job is cut out for you.”
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