Organised
labour on Monday accused the Federal Government of failing in its
responsibility of ensuring the protection of lives and property of the
Nigerian citizenry.
President of the Nigeria Labour
Congress, Mr. Abdulwahed Omar; and his counterpart in the Trade Union
Congress, Mr. Bobboi Kaigama, said that the bombings, killings,
assassinations, kidnappings and other vices in the society had become
rather disturbing.
In a joint Independence anniversary
statement, Omar and Kaigama lamented that the ugly scenes that were only
seen in movies had become daily occurrences in the country and that the
situation seemed to have overwhelmed the government.
They said that violence perpetrated by
the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, in Borno, Yobe and Kano states;
the killings by the Fulani herdsmen; and the threat by Niger Delta
militants to destroy oil pipeline infrastructure had placed a question
mark on the security of the nation.
The labour leaders’ statement read, “It
is a sad fact that our children can now identify various types of guns
through the sounds of their respective shots.
“It pricks the heart of Congress that
bombings, killings, assassinations, kidnappings, suicide bombings and
other negative scenes we watched in movies many years ago are now live
occurrences among us and seem to have overwhelmed the government and
security operatives.
“The major responsibility of government to protect lives and property has eluded it.
“The series of carnage caused by the
Boko Haram insurgents in Borno, Yobe, Kano etc., the rampage by Fulani
herdsmen in Jos, and the threat by Niger Delta militants to destroy
pipelines and other oil and gas infrastructure have put the security of
the nation to question. ”
Omar and Kaigama also blamed the
backwardness of the country on corruption, which, according to them, was
responsible for the problems in the oil and gas sector and the decision
to ensure importation of refined petroleum products rather than locally
refining the products, among others.
PUNCH
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