Against the backdrop of unrestrained reign of terror across the country with its attendant loss of lives, Nigerian workers on Tuesday spoke with one voice expressing fear and anger over their continued existence even as former Defence Minister, General Theophilus Danjuma (rtd) who has concluded that Nigeria is presently on fire and tending towards the Somali experience. The workers spoke through their leaders at this year’s May Day celebrations. President Goodluck Jonathan on his part declared that the Federal Government had adopted a multi-pronged approach to tackle the high level of insecurity across the country. The president was represented at the celebrations by the Minister of Labour, Chief Emeka Wogu. President of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar in his remarks said the choice of the theme for this year’s May Day celebration was based on the huge challenges of insecurity in the country. He said: “Since the last May Day, the escalation of the Boko Haram threat has manifested in several bombings and attacks across the country resulting in the loss of hundreds of lives. But while we have unequivocally condemned these senseless violence and destruction we are nevertheless convinced that the ease with which terrorist ideologues are able to recruit foot soldiers to carry out their nefarious acts must be seriously addressed if terrorism is to be made a thing of the past. “That the terrorist ideologues are able to recruit willing and daring foot soldiers with ease lies deeply rooted in the decaying social conditions in our nation: joblessness, hunger, poverty, lack of electricity, illiteracy and lack of access to education”. Security challenges questions nation’s coexistence — TUC president President-General of Trade Union Congress, TUC, Comrade Peter Esele said that current security challenges in the country have led the nation inexorably where our coexistence as diverse entities within a nation state has become seriously questioned and challenged. He said: “We have observed the unfortunate statements from certain quarters flying the sectional flag while others are beginning to discuss the dismembering of our dear nation by allocating regions and resources to one group or the other. We do not only condemn the perpetrators of the bombings going on in the country, we also condemn those who have come out to ride on the tide of this to call for certain negotiations. It is condemnable that our politicians have found swimming in the blood of the people and sitting upon our dead bodies as platforms for negotiating the allocation of political power and resources in the country”. Commenting on the economic situation in the country, the NLC President condemned what he described as jobless growth which the Nigerian economy has been witnessing in recent times. According to Omar: “The Government continues to report annual rates of growth gross domestic product in excess of seven percent even while unemployment continues to swell." The NLC President also restated the labour movement’s position that the N97 per litre of petrol which was announced by the Federal Government -after Nigerian workers had embarked on an eight day nation-wide strike to protest against complete deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry- was still high. Said he: “Unfortunately, the Belgore Committee within whose framework we had hoped to contest this price hike has remained moribund till today”. The labour leader also expressed regret that despite the fact that the National Minimum wage was backed by law some states of the federation have still refused to implement it up till date adding that the umbrella labour body might resort to another nation-wide strike to compel the affected state governments to comply. He also condemned attempts by some lawmakers to sponsor a bill which would effectively outlaw strikes in the country and called on members of the National Assembly to reject the proposed legislation. He also called on the Federal Government to be cautious in implementing the recommendations of the Oronsaye Panel on Harmonisation of federal ministries, agencies, and parastatals adding that the Federal Government should negotiate with NLC on the panel’s report. President Jonathan, however, said he was aware that the nation’s economy could only thrive maximally if the Federal Government is able to effectively check threats to the national security. He urged organized labour to sufficiently examine the theme for this year’s May day celebration “Right to Work, Food and Education: a panacea to insecurity” in order to present recommendations that will assist the Government to successfully confront the national plague. The President said his administration had directed that the National Action Plan for Employment Creation, NAPEC, which was the outcome of the recent National Employment Summit that was organized by the Ministry of Labour and Productivity should be incorporated into our National Development Plans, adding: “I have also directed that all contract awards by ministries, departments and agencies are to include local employment content components.” Nigeria on fire— Danjuma Meanwhile former Defence Minister, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), yesterday, took a critical look at the heightened insecurity in Nigeria and concluded that the nation is on fire and tending towards the Somalia experience. Gen. Danjuma who rarely comments on political issues warned at the 50th birthday anniversary of the publisher of Leadership newspaper, Mr. Sam Nda-Isaiah, in Abuja, that the process of becoming like Somalia has started in Nigeria and that firm measures must be taken in the immediate to halt it. His words: “I used to tell myself that we shall muddle through but believe me, in the last two months, I began to wonder – our house is on fire. Nigeria is becoming like Somalia. The Somaliasation of our country is going on now. We have to sit down and tell ourselves the truth. Our house is on fire, let us not deceive ourselves. We must tell ourselves the truth”. Gen. Danjuma lashed out at the governors of the Northern states where hundreds of innocent Nigerians have been killed, for failing to protect the people, when they needed it most. He queried: “The security of the states is on the governors. Where are the governors. We hear of multi-billions spent to erect government houses. What is left for the citizens?” declaring that Borno State was a failed state and other states where people are being freely killed were following the same trend. Former Vice Chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Prof Ango Abdullahi, who delivered the lead paper said that the current insecurity in the country was caused by bad governance and corrupt governments. He said: “Have we done enough to resist bad governanc? We have been held hostage by corrupt governments, especially since the demise of the first republic.” He said the agitation for secession of Scotland and Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom, the world’s oldest democracy should be a reason for Nigerians not to take for granted, current agitations for the breakup of Nigeria. Prof. Abdullahi also noted that of the three amalgamations of the British colonial government- India, Sudan and Nigeria, only Nigeria stands at present, as India has since broken into India and Pakistan and Pakistan further breaking with the creation of Bangladesh, while Sudan recently broke into two with the breaking away of South Sudan. Ignoring the facts His words: “We can’t ignore these facts. We can’t take these facts for granted. We either sit down and talk on them or we will wish them away as our leaders are trying to make us believe”. Elder statesman, Ahmed Joda, said: “We must face ourselves and establish the causes of the current situation and solutions to them. What remains is for us to set the process to bring about that meeting to save our people”. Former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Gen, Jerry Useni was very blunt, saying “if our brothers say today there should be security, there will be security. How can we say we don’t know those who are Boko Haram and yet they are killing us everyday? The problem is that the people they should go and meet, they are not going there”. Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria, CAN, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, said the PDP government has woefully failed Nigerians and should, therefore, quit as Nigerians were tired of the spreading of sorrow by armed militants and the excuses of government and its lamentations. His words: “Nigerians have never had it so bad. PDP seems to have fallen short of confronting the nation’s greatest problem. What have we got from government? We have got lamentation, sorrow, excuses and lack of development, they should quit. We are tired of lamentation. It is not about lamentations. It is about actions that can correct this nation”. Former Senate President, Chief Ken Nnamani, regretted that the nation’s leaders have lost the sense of shame for wrong doing and that people who should have been in prison or hide their faces in shame for bad past were walking the streets. He said: “Shame is lacking now. This is a country where the concept of shame is lacking. We have leaders who lie without shame. The worst lie you can tell is to lie to yourself.” He challenged the PDP government to face two of the nation’s worst problems which he identified as corruption and insecurity. Chief Femi Fani-Kayode in his contribution urged the government to listen to Gen Danjuma, noting that the revered Army General seldom speaks but that each time he speaks something happens. He said: “We can’t afford to have our house on fire. Whatever has to be done must be done. Each time Gen. Danjuma speaks people listen because he rarely speaks and when he does something happens. I hope the powers that be are listening. When you have Boko Haram bombing churches and killing Christians and even Muslims everyday, this is unacceptable. A situation where people are been killed everyday, blood is flowing everyday is not acceptable”. The celebrant, Mr. Sam Nda-Isaiah in an emotion-laden voice, said that Nigerians now face a situation where the Nigerian government cannot maintain public order and cannot ensure the security of its people. He said: “What is happening today, the elite have agreed, is unsustainable. We all must agree to take away our nation from the few evil people.” FG set to check threats to national security — Jonathan President Jonathan, however, stated that he was aware that the nation’s economy could only thrive maximally if the Federal Government is able to effectively check threats to the national security. He called on workers in particular and all Nigerians in general to give his administration the needed support to permanently resolve the insecurity challenge the nation is presently facing. He urged organized labour to sufficiently examine the theme for this year’s May day celebration “Right to Work, Food and Education: a panacea to insecurity” in order to present recommendations that will assist the Government to successfully confront the national plague. Nigeria’s border closure grounds economic activities for Chad and Cameroon — Envoy The directive by the Federal Government to close the country’s border in some troubled parts of Borno, Yobe, Niger and Plateau States with some neighbouring countries is taking a negative turn on the economies of the latter. Nigeria’s ambassador in Chad, Alhaji Abdullahi Omaki, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in N’djamena. Omaki who said that Chad and Cameroon were the most affected by the directive noted: “The volume of trade, largely unrecorded, is about 80 per cent in favour of Nigeria. Most of the goods and services coming into Chad, 80 per cent come from Nigeria with less than 20 per cent coming from Cameroon. If the borders were not closed and you go through the Banki road, the Gambo road you will see the numbers of trailers that are plying that route on daily basis. Now that the border has been closed with effect from the end of last year, if you ask the Cameroonian authority, they will tell you how much they are losing in terms of revenue that they collect from these vehicles that pass through Banki and Gamboru.” President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday led Nigeria’s delegation to the summit which was attended by four other African leaders of LCBC member states. The downturn in economic activities at the border areas with the neighbouring countries followed President Jonathan’s declaration of a state of emergency in 15 local government areas in Borno, Yobe, Plateau and Niger states last December. Affected local government areas in Borno which partly have contiguous border with Cameroon and Chad were; Maiduguri Metropolitan, Gamboru Ngala, Banki Bama, Biu and Jere. In the declaration, the president also directed the closure of land borders contiguous to the affected local government areas as part of measures to tighten security and check incidences of cross-border terrorist activities. He also underscored Nigeria’s commitment to Protocols on Free Movement of Persons Goods signed between ECOWAS member countries and noted that the border closure was an interim measure that would be reviewed as soon as normalcy returned. Omaki said the closure of the borders had drastically affected the volume of trade between Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad. He said though Nigeria did not have land border with Chad except the maritime boundary through Lake Chad, the effect of the closure on that country could not be underestimated. He explained that exported goods from Nigeria to Chad were transported through the Cameroonian land border. He said with the closure of the borders, Chadian businessmen now sourced their goods from Sudan and some other African countries at higher costs.