Forty years after the abortion of the NLC June 4 protest-march, By Ahmed Aminu-Ramatu Yusuf

On 4 June, 1986, exactly forty years ago, history was made when the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), led by a humble, soft-spoken, justice-minded, and lion-hearted Alhaji Ali Chiroma, decided to embarked on a nation-wide protest-march.

I have written on the decision of NLC to embark on the protest-march in my Premium Times article of 10 April, 2024, titled “Ali Chiroma and the 4th of June protest.”

Nevertheless, it is important to repeat here that the NLC decision was triggered by the 1986 “Ango-must-go” protest in Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, on 22 and 23 May, 1986, which led to the murder and injury of some students and children. These murders sparked nation-wide students’ demonstrations, which led to more fatalities due to the brutal response of the state.

The insensitive statement of the ABU Vice Chancellor, Professor Ango Abdullahi, that he had “no regrets inviting the police”, and that “only four people died” infuriated the populace. The situation was worsened by the fascist rationalisation of the violence by Kaduna State Police Commissioner, Nuhu Aliyu, that the “law authorised them (Police) to shoot…”

The lackadaisical attitude of the Babangida military regime; its refusal to comment on the matter three days after, as well as its refusal to pacify the students’ movement, and console the parents of police casualties, deepened the crisis.

The government’s refusal to meet popular demands; that Abdullahi, Aliyu, and Professor Jibril Aminu – the Education Minister – be suspended; and all the arrested and detained students be released, angered the NLC, NANS, and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

The establishment of a panel by the military junta to investigate the crisis, apportion blames, and make recommendations, amongst others, did not pacify NLC, NANS and ASUU. Rather, it irritated them, partly as the: “history of (such) panels has shown that they are used to diffuse tension and cover-up the situation” on ground.

NLC’s outright rejection of Abisoye panel and, its resolution, on 28 May, 1986, to declare Wednesday, 4 June, 1986 as a Day of National Mourning to be marked with peaceful marches by workers throughout the country, infuriated the military despots.

By this declaration, the NLC supported NANS and ASUU’s rejection of the panel. It practically demonstrated its respect for human lives; and its commitment to protect and advance the human, civil and democratic rights of all.

Also with its declaration, the labour centre registered its commitment to strengthening the unity of popular and democratic forces, and their united struggles against undemocratic, non-democratic and anti-democracy forces.

The military despots were visibly angered. They thundered that the NLC declaration: “was most irritating and annoying threat. That Congress has made itself a nuisance almost of every issue…” They added that the proposed march was “a direct challenge” to their “authority and legitimacy”; and were determined “to meet the challenge with all the resources at its disposal.”

Not only did they threaten; they acted on their threats by mobilising the entire armed forces, police and security forces. In Chiroma’s words, the despots declared “an all-out war, by land, sea and air against unarmed workers, more serious than even shoot-at-sight order…”

Partly as a result of the tyrants’ declaration of war against workers and society, but largely due to immense pressures from opportunists, careerists, fear-mongers, and fifth columnists within the NLC, a compromise was reached to scale down the protest-march to only representatives of labour unions. Even so, the despots did not take any risk.

On 3 June, at about mid-night, the national and some states’ NLC secretariats were seized, occupied and declared “SECURITY ZONE, KEEP OFF”, by combat-dressed, battle-ready, fierce-looking, and heavily-armed personnel.

They also arrested and detained labour and students’ leaders nation-wide. Heavily armed police guarded higher institutions of learning, despite their closure. Security forces littered the streets in Lagos and other towns. Army armour tanks took over strategic buildings and places. Helicopters hovered over around the city.

So did the military junta abort the 4 June protest march.

But it was not only the 4 June march that was aborted; the First Independence Movement (FIM), with all its successes, was also virtually aborted with 4 June.

Whether FIM survived the abortion or not is debatable; but what is undebatable is that today, FIM is virtually of no consequential value, has outlived its historical relevance, and, is therefore, moribund, parasitic, decaying and unsalvageable.

The junta’s official adoption, on 27 June, 1986, of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) structural adjustment programme, or neoliberalism as is widely called today, negated the developmental, political and democratic gains of FIM.

The devaluation of the naira, and the privatisation of state-owned companies (SOEs), amongst others, led to the legal seizures of our collective resources and companies. Our commonwealth was individualised. SOEs disappeared. Workers massively retrenched, in some cases, without any compensation and pension benefits.

The NLC was dissolved by the despots in March 1988 on the ground that it “has metamorphosed into two ideological lines.” A multinational company personnel manager, Chief Michael Ogunkoya, was imposed as NLC “sole administrator” to restructure it.

ASUU was disaffiliated. NLC-NANS alliance unilaterally dissolved. Chiroma was compulsorily retired. NLC radical forces were neutralised. Rightwing, power-drunk, money-minded, anti-workers, pro-state and highly exhibitionistic labour aristocrats, headed by Pascal Bafyau, were imposed on NLC and workers.

To this day, labour has not recovered from the disasters visited on it by the military and the labour aristocrats within it. The NLC suffered tremendously under Adams Oshiomhole and Ayuba Wabba. With the latter, NLC became the exact opposite of what it was under Comrades Hassan Sunmonu and Chiroma. General strikes were called without concrete gains.

Yesteryears, NANS withstood state repression, including proscriptions; dissolutions of its constituent unions; and the regular suspension, rustication and expulsion of its leaders and activists from school. Arrest, detention, trial, and imprisonment of its leaders and activists did not drastically affect its opposition to the despots.

NANS became highly radicalised, initiating, organising and leading popular street struggles against military authoritarianism and neoliberalism. Undoubtedly, NANS remained the “voice of the voiceless”, the “loudspeaker of the oppressed”, and the vanguard of the struggle for democracy and development.

Tragically, since the late 1990s, NANS has mainly been seized by violent students’ groups financed, armed, protected and enabled by State security forces and lumpen politicians. Its leaders became spokespersons, campaign agents, propagandists, and lumpens of Nigerian lumpen politicians.

Today, NANS leaders are frantically hostile and antagonistic to anything development, democracy or social justice.

Yesteryears, Nigerians were united on basic issues, like the right to life and movement. Human lives, indeed, mattered. No so today. No mass-based or professional organisation will stand up to defend human lives as NLC, NANS, and ASUU did in the 1980s.

Under military despots, there was freedom of movement, without fear. Student activists mostly travelled at midnight, just to beat the monitoring of security forces, for aluta (struggle) purposes. They returned safely to their campuses the next day to continue their studies and aluta.

Today, the fear of bandits and terrorists, who kidnap children and adults, security and non-security people for fantastic ransom, is the beginning of wisdom.

With a constitution, Nigerians cannot freely move, work, play, learn, socialise and sleep well. There was a country!

Ahmed Aminu-Ramatu Yusuf worked as deputy director, Cabinet Affairs Office, The Presidency, and retired as General Manager (Administration), Nigerian Meteorological Agency, (NiMet). Email: aaramatuyusuf@yahoo.com