pharm Ahmed Muhammed Gana
By Pharm. Ahmed Gana Mohammed
It is clear that civil service is not rewarding when you consider welfare and take-home packages. However, the reality is that without the peace of mind that comes with a good package for the worker, their input is not optimized. Strike is part of a civil servant’s work when carried out legally, so it is not proper for the Federal Government to stop workers’ salaries.
Nigeria is a signatory to the International Labour Organization (ILO), having joined on October 17, 1960, and has ratified 40 International Labour Conventions. Recently, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Mohammad Dingyadi, reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to ILO and shared its vision of fair labour practices. The “no work no pay” policy in Nigeria has raised concerns about its alignment with ILO, and according to experts, its implementation can be contentious, especially when it involves strike actions.
In the past, when the Government was responsible and cared about the life, health, and wellbeing of its citizens, the card of strike was used to draw its attention to some inadequacies, which were promptly addressed by the Government. The situation is now different. When healthy people are being kidnapped and killed, and nothing is done to address the issue, how do you think something will be done to address the issue of sick people who are about to die by themselves because of a strike? Is it not an extension of population control?
Politicians have their own language, and no matter how hard you try to speak to them, they will not understand you if you are speaking a different language. Using big grammar or rational science to a politician who was elected with an F9 in 9 subjects would produce only frustration. It took less than 3 years to pass a tax law that was to start working in January 2026, but the same system could not implement an agreement made 12 years ago!
If the Government says there is no money to pay health workers, it raises more questions. Why was the petroleum subsidy removed and the Naira allowed to float? Where is the money that was saved? Government money or public money controlled by the Government reaches us basically through two ways: salary and contracts. If both salary earners and contractors are protesting over non-payment, then where is the money?
Some politicians think salary is just a welfare package given to those who wasted time acquiring a certificate. Don’t blame them, because probably the main work performed by civil servants working at the local government level, supervised by politicians, is collecting salaries.
The agriculture, education, health, and security sectors should be treated differently. Remember what happened during the COVID-19 pandemic? When politicians were scrambling to leave the country, health workers put their lives on the line and helped diligently. Hospitals, especially tertiary hospitals, operate like banks; what that means is, they are like private corporate organizations and work efficiently. They are even more stringent than banks because life is involved, not papers. They also work 24/7, 365 days, unlike banks that open at 8:00 am and close at 4:00 pm, which is considered one out of the three 8-hour shifts run in hospitals.
Unlike those who work in Local Government, health workers cannot afford to stay at home when they are on duty. In fact, it is inconceivable. The strike should give Nigerians, particularly health workers, a good insight that Nigeria can survive without them, because there is no protest from the general public.
Those who hold the notion that they are patriotic and suffering for the sake of Nigerians should know better; both the Government and the people do not care about you. It is happening to the educational sector, using the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) as a prism, and security, using banditry and kidnapping as indexes, and also agriculture, using the hunger protest. Security personnel and farmers do not have the luxury of playing the strike card, unlike health workers and ASUU. But they have a stronger card to play during elections.
Is it not logical for health workers, ASUU, and farmers to collaborate and form a political party to wrestle power from incompetent politicians? Organized labour did so in other countries, and in Nigeria, politicians did it with the military.
Ideally, doctors should float private hospitals and absorb all doctors and non-doctors to work together and leave government service. All patients would be forced to go to them, but it is not possible to do that. This calls for a paradigm shift.
First, health workers have to reach out to organizations with experience, like ASUU, and learn from them. The second thing would be to tell the politicians their problems in their own language. During the last campaign, they formed groups of professionals at both state and national levels and supported the formation of the Government, expecting a change and implementation of the agreement made with the previous unreliable Government. Medical Health Workers may not be ready to repeat that anymore.
More than half of Nigerians fall sick in one way or another and come into contact with public health workers. Imagine each worker complaining and explaining to patients how the Government, particularly the Federal Ministry of Health, has been treating them. Is that unethical?
There are rumors that one of the highly placed officials is interested in contesting for Governorship of his state; the health workers will help showcase his achievements in the state, including “no work no pay”. Health workers are reasonable and not political, so the above cards may not be played.
How about creating money for them through their respective unions? The time of strike should be used to advantage; the health workers’ unions can contact other organizations within the organized Trade Unions and offer their services for the duration of the strike. For instance, NURTW can assist by giving part-time jobs to members who know how to drive, while JOHESU serves as their guarantors. Welfare Associations and Cooperatives can assist with loans to members who want to invest in ventures. Also, Market Associations can be approached for apprenticeship. It is all about money, and it is not only in Government that money can be made.
Entrepreneurial training should be provided to members on a continuous b inasis, irrespective of the outcome of this strike. It should be an eye-opener!
Pharm. Ahmed Gana Mohammed, a former Chairman of JOHESU Kano Council.