Salisu Nuhu Muhammad
On May 15, 2012, exactly two weeks after he actively participated in that year’s May Day celebration in Abuja, the cruel hands of death snatched away the indefatigable workers’ leader, Adamawa State-born, Comrade Paschal Myeleri Bafyau. Bafyau was, by all accounts, a talented, respected and beloved president of the most formidable labour centre in Africa, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). Any keen observer of what was then going on in labour unionism in the country, would concede that fortune smiled on trade unions and their traumatised national umbrella, the NLC, when Bafyau emerged as president in 1988, at the National Arts Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos.
Within a short time of his mounting the saddle, he enthroned a result-oriented leadership style that saw challenges, which hitherto defied solution, brought to a complete halt. Thanks largely to the consultative approach of those people who easily identified with the leadership acumen of the tireless, but amiable comrade Bafyau.
It took a visionary leader with an abundance of heart like Bafyau to navigate and manage the discordantly rambunctious diversity that characterised the Nigerian labour movement before he took over. He revived the hitherto dormant decision making organs of the congress, like the National Administrative Council (NAC), the Central Working Committee (CWC) and the National Executive Council (NEC).
It appeared he saw well ahead, and understood perhaps far better than many of his contemporary trade unionists that the tangible presence and prevalence of purposeful unity in a working class organisation were of indispensable significance.
Soon enough, the hard lesson was beginning to surface. A united trades union movement was not only manifestly powerful and impregnable, but was also an unstoppable rugged machine in the long journey of the Nigerian working class and their allies towards achieving social justice and freedom. The unity achieved by the unions instantly conferred enormous power on them, making them to be highly respected. The unity oiled the workers’ fighting capacity and sooner than later tangible results percolated ubiquitously.
Bafyau raised the national minimum wage by 100 per cent; elongated salary scale and 50 per cent salary increase across board. He successfully negotiated the revision of gratuity qualifying period from 10 to five years and pension from 15 to 10 years. More importantly, gratuity and pension to be calculated on the basis of total emoluments instead of on the basis of basic salaries of workers, as was the common practice hitherto.
There was the introduction of transport allowance, meal subsidy, house rent and leave grant to all workers, with the revision of Nigerian Workers Compensation Act; abolition of National Provident Fund (NPF) and the introduction of National Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), whose benefits encompassed private sector workers. He also established the now defunct LACON Bank for labour. He spearheaded the formation of the second Labour Party in 1989. He founded the Labour Mirror Publishing Company, publishers of The Weekly Labour Champion newspaper, in Lagos.
Bafyau successfully launched the workers’ Education Endowment Fund (EEF) so as to continually support the education and training of workers in the rubrics of trade unionism and labour enlightenment, generally. Using his board membership of the Urban Development Bank of Nigeria, he ensured the establishment of NLC’s wholly-owned Labour Transport Services. He crowned his legacy by building a 12-storey labour secretariat in Abuja, which was posthumously renamed Comrade Paschal Bafyau’s House.
It is inexplicable to comprehend the fact that he lived and died without building or owning any house. The small family he left behind is today living in a very modest rented house in Abuja, where they continue to draw inexhaustible inspiration from the good name and exemplary life he happily and contentedly chose to live.
Indeed, during one of the many private discussions this writer was privileged to have with him, he, as if in a premonition, dwelt at length on this seemingly innocuous issue. He held the firm view that any labour leader that served Nigerian workers meritoriously, upon his/her demise, the workers should appreciate, reward and shower such a leader and his/her families with basic necessities of life. He narrated the well-known case of Comrade Michael Imoudu, Nigeria’s intrepid labour leader number one, whose house was built by the Railway Workers’ Union in appreciation of his selfless service.
The NLC had always operated on laid down leftwing-leaning policies and principles. The main preoccupation of its pioneer president, Comrade Hassan Adebayo Sunmonu, and his team was justifiably evident in their concentration on laying the young workers’ organisation on a very strong, solid and democratic foundation.
Paschal was cut out for it, because, very early in life, he sought education to build his capacity. From 1954 to 1965, the young Paschal completed his primary and post-primary schooling. For his professional grounding in Nigeria and abroad, that took him to the Netherlands, US, Germany, China, Britain, Belgium, etc., with an array of certificates and diplomas to show for it. The essential foundational commitment to remake the labour movement clearly came from this deep background.
The period of prolonged interlude, which followed the termination of Comrade Ali Ciroma’s turbulent tenure in Benin City in 1988, by the Ibrahim Babangida military junta, was actually a rare opportunity and good time for sober and deep reflections by all true labour leaders and Nigerian activists of democratic and civil society persuasions.
Bafyau confided in those close to him that the identified endemic weaknesses bedeviling the labour movement must be speedily tackled; to transform the NLC from its decrepit condition into a financially buoyant, politically powerful and organizationally strong working class popular democratic platform.
Paschal became an open advocate of diversification of sources of unions income and prudent investments of workers’ funds, with a view to readily and quickly achieving the long term dreams and cherished goals of financial solvency and independence, for the benefit of the labour movement. As the molten magma of the workers opposition to prevailing military dictatorship was about to ignite chains of popular nationwide protests demanding for a return to democratic rule,
The trade union organizations then took advantage of the incipient transitional mood in the country to become overly restive, their political voice which used to be muted now became louder and their class interests more stridently articulated, fearlessly and courageously defended. The grounds had therefore been well set for the national labour leadership to up its game in the nation’s roaring industrial and power politics.
Bafayau swung into action and motivated the trade unions to quickly embark on a nationwide workers mass mobilization in furtherance of the long awaited collective aspirations of Nigerian workers, towards establishing a strong and formidable political party of their own.
In no time, the structures of the newly created workers party sprouted and blossomed with branches opened in the nooks and crannies of our nation.
The Labour Party that comrade Paschal Bafyau helped to form in 1989 was a workers’ party full of purpose and intoxicating promises. Regrettably, these were the two reasons, which frightened the then ruling military junta into truncating the life of the party at its most vibrant political infancy.
Since this injustice perpetrated by the outgone military against the workers, all subsequent efforts at party formation by labour unions, have been meekly, spinelessly and blindly pursued, totally barren of any purpose and equally contemptuous of all its captivating promises.
Bafyau who passed on peacefully at the age of 65, is survived by his wife, Jessica, and four beautiful daughters.
•Comrade Muhammad, former Acting General Secretary, NLC, can be reached via [email protected]