Over the world, industrial struggles are staged to demand individual rights from those in power. It has never been used to cripple other people’s freedom.
For example, resourceful means were employed by unions to claim their dues in Germany, through a well coordinated boycott and an organized research stoppage.
In some other parts of the west, organisations always devised Italian strikes or a slowdown as it is popularly known in the United States of America. This happens when employees defy to perform additional duties, except those strictly spelled out in their contractual obligations. This is an industrial action that targets to reduce an organization’s output, and persuades employers to meet the demand of employees.
Back to Africa in South Africa—workers resort to court actions, weaponising it as a potent tool to compel the government to listen to their outcries, while holding the state accountable for their inactions.
But when it comes to Nigeria, a country that prides itself as the giant of Africa, industrial strikes are nothing but an indefinite and suffocating exercise where governments exercise their political prowess, and the unions linger on their grievances until divine intervention is sought.
‘Indefinite and Suffocating’ ASUU Strikes
Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has been a remarkable body in Nigeria’s educational landscape. The association has gained notoriety for its recurring industrial resistance over the decades. At the heart of its struggles lies an agitation for the improvement of universities’ funding and poor remuneration of members by the government.
The last time the union embarked on strike during the late President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in 2022, students sat at home for nothing less than eight months, a period that covers more than an academic session. During the intervals, the union and the federal government’s representatives met nearly every week to settle on favourable solutions, but all the meetings ended up without results until FG waged its supremacy through the mechanism of a court.
Today, the crack that led to the “indefinite and suffocating” eight-month strike, and the new ones created by it are still casting a serious threat on the minds of concerned individuals, especially anytime another threat of strike looms.
The effects of the ASUU strikes are damning, painting the Nigerian educational system as poor and incompetent on a global stage.
To Nigerians, ASUU strikes translate to students losing valuable academic time, parents and guardians bearing additional financial burdens, with the reputation of the country’s universities being subjected to criticism all over the world. This has pushed many students to abandon school, fueling the already volatile out-of-school crisis, while contributing to the growing concern of social vices and employment rates battling the country.
Globally, Nigeria universities were underrated compared to their African counterparts in countries where the presence of academic activities are stable like Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, among others.
The problem has posed a deathblow on the certificates being earned by Nigerian university graduates, with employers casting doubts on the competency of students graduated from schools plagued by disruptions.
Incessant Struggles By Health Workers Akin To Death Sentence
Running from late July to early August this year, the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) embarked on a seven-day industrial warning action, leaving patients stranded, with wards being emptied, as critical services interrupted.
The union’s members defied their workplaces after the federal government acted indifferent to the 15–days ultimatum earlier issued by the body on 14 July. This stemmed from the existing cries about poor welfare, hostile working conditions, and unsettled policy issues.
During the periods, several patients who visited federal public health institutions across Nigeria, suffered the pains of leaving the hospitals without medical attention. Those who were admitted before the commencement of the strike were prematurely discharged before their appointed time due to the absence of nurses that will provide appropriate treatments.
This raised a serious concern if at all human lives are no more valuable in Nigeria.
In another similar stunt, the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) commenced a five-day nationwide warning strike on Friday, 12th September, following a denial of several ultimatums being issued to the federal government.
The association has justified their actions based on several reasons, including demand for the release of the 2025 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF), payment of five months’ arrears from the revised Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), and settlement of outstanding allowances.
Before resuming duties after three days of struggle, several patients relying on public healthcare centers have suffered drastically, as the strike crippled hospital operations across public facilities in Nigeria. This compelled vulnerable individuals to rely on substandard substitutes such as student doctors.
Therefore, 90–percent of deaths in Nigeria hospitals have been caused by poor attitudes of health workers, a report by Premium Times Nigeria claimed, linking incessant health workers’ strikes among the causative factors, adding that Nigerian people are the ones suffering and dying in the end.
A report by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), revealed how a pregnant woman lost her life at the National Hospital Abuja, due to an industrial action by health workers in 2017. A similar report by the media organization showed how the country wasted nearly 300 working days on hospital strikes between 2013 and 2021—highlighting the menace as one of the major problems that surged preventable deaths in the country.
‘No one Is Immune When It Comes To NLC’—Experts
Being mother to other industrial unions across the country, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has been so violent in employing strikes as the overt expression of civil resistance whenever the issue of industrial conflict arises. This often happened when the union needed its demands to be met by the government, especially for the increment of the minimum wage.
One of such instances unfolded in July 2024, and lasted for three days. The incident plagued the whole country into dimensional woes: economic uncertainty, shut down of the national grid, and disruption of airline operations throughout the country. With work stoppage all over the country, inflation rates surged from time to time, and diminished overall economic growth.
Experts in key economic sectors have cautioned that the nation risks losing N50 billion daily to strikes.
Aminu Abdulkadir, a financial analyst, pointed to the substantial financial burdens, stalled infrastructural projects, and delayed service delivery, as some of the major consequences of NLC industrial strikes in Nigeria, which usually amounted to huge financial losses.
The recurring industrial struggles in Nigeria have a great impact in chasing away foreign investors, while loosening investors’ confidence, said Peter Ogunmefu, a Nigerian Economist.
He continued saying that if the problem persists, it can affect Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs), contribute to capital flight, and negatively impact foreign exchange earnings.
Therefore, holistic efforts have been pitched to arrest the grave consequences of the ongoing trends of industrial civil resistance in Nigeria.
“As the nation comes to terms with the realities of the negative economic impact of industrial actions, Nigerians are urging the government, the labour unions and other stakeholders to prioritise dialogue and negotiation to avoid strikes and mitigate their effects on the economy.”