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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.
They called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission; the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission; and the Nigerian Police to ensure the performance of their statutory responsibilities.
They also called on the Federal Government to lead the fight against corruption “by demonstrating the will and determination to enforce relevant laws and win the fight.”
Speaking also on the state of the nation’s economy, the NLC and the TUC said that the Federal Government had a responsibility to prove its claim that the economy was strong by paying the striking university lecturers the amount of money they were asking for.
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