Bimbola Oyesola
The Shop and Distributive Trade Senior Staff Association (SHOPDIS) has blamed the nation’s political leaders for several economic challenges the citizens are contending with on daily basis.
President of SHOPDIS, Abdusalam Oaikhena, in his address at the 8th Delegate Conference of the union, said the political leaders have failed the entire nation woefully.
He noted that people who are saddled with the responsibility of governing the people seem not be getting it right.
He said, “There is no significant improvement in our economy. From the micro perspective, the state of industrial relation within the Shop and Distributive Trade has been hampered by low trading activities.
“Majority of our companies are grappling with multi-faceted problems such as poor power supply, multiple taxation, inconsistencies in government policies and the overwhelming security challenges in some parts of the country.” He lamented that the end result of all the problems Nigerians are witnessing are retrenchment of workers and in a number of cases, total closure of hitherto vibrant enterprises.
On the macro level, the SHOPDIS President said the state of the economy being felt in the industry is very pathetic. “There has been no creation of new jobs and losses of the existing ones have been the order of the day. It is indeed a tough period for us as a people,” he said.
He reasoned that rather than the political leaders legislating on issues that will benefit Nigerians, recent events have proven that they are there on self-serving missions.
He stated, “In a country so blessed, we have no reason to be suffering, but our leaders who swore on oath to defend the constitution at all times and in every circumstance have thrown caution overboard to manipulate necessary provisions to suit their selfish purposes. Just imagine reports making the waves regarding gargantuan pension payments to formal governors while workers who retire have to wait for years before collecting the pittance as their pensions.
“Some years ago, the Governor of the Central Bank made some revelations which confirmed that the National Assembly has been and is still a serious drain on the nation’s resources and a threat to our democracy.
“It is ironical that at a time some state governments refused to pay the minimum wage of N30,000 for workers, members of the National Assembly are each raking home a monthly emoluments of several millions of naira.”
Oaikhena said it has been established that the Nigerian law-maker ranks the highest paid among the world’s legislators and yet, Nigerians do not feel the impact of their efforts.
“We spent a lot of our resources in ‘manufacturing’ laws and yet you can’t see the effect in the lives of our people,” he stated.
He also expressed that the attack on human rights is condemnable, adding that Government’s refusal to obey court orders is equally condemnable, calling on those in power to stop the abuse of peoples rights and freedom of expression.
The President of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Quadri Olaleye, in his address noted that the
industrial environment is unfriendly and workers must not pretend about it as there are many issues challenging their very existence.
He charged members of the Organised Labour to remain united in solidarity to advance their interest.
“The time to build a relationship that would further engender our aims and objectives is now”, he said.