Tonnie Iredia: Art of fighting for allowances in Nigeria

by Tonnie Iredia

43-1024x694

Football is probably the best example of where our citizens have to fight for their allowances all the time. Each time players of our national team –the Super Eagles demand their allowances; the nation is made to believe that they are over demanding. The truth however is that they always ask for only their due which is also usually the previously agreed figure.

The nation-wide strike action embarked upon since last Tuesday by the National Association of Resident Doctors has expectedly made its painful impact on Nigerians. The doctors are angered among other things by the failure of government to observe the implementation of the Integrated Payroll and Personal Information System (IPPIS) agreement reached between government and the doctors. Briefing the media during the week, the President of the Association Dr. Jibril Abdullahi explained that his Association had given government uptil September 30, 2013, to resolve the issues involved but that it failed to do so. He added that the Enugu State Government also failed to implement the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) for his members in the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital.

Those of us who always chastise our doctors each time they resort to strikes as a basis for conflict resolution need to pause this time to take a second look at the scenario. Oh yes, those who think the doctors are unpatriotic, hard hearted and unfair to the suffering masses need to also find out why government is fond of creating convenient grounds for doctors to remain aggrieved. In other words, why are avoidable lapses in the handling of our doctors allowed to occur so often? Did those who introduced IPPIS for instance understand its processes before adopting the system? If not, is it fair that a so-called new system of payment of salaries leaves workers for months without means of livelihood? Is it rational to ask doctors or indeed any group to be patient while using terminologies to deny them their rights? Thus, the argument that other categories of Nigerian workers who are equally adversely affected by the IPPIS and have not gone on strike as the doctors have done merely applauds the timidity of some segments of our civic society.

Again to argue that the situation at the Enugu University Teaching Hospital is too isolated to serve as one of the grounds of the doctors’ strike misses the point because an institution does not have to be federal to do what is right. Besides, the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure which the doctors in Enugu are demanding is reportedly being implemented to a select group in the same institution. The fight by the doctors for their right is therefore not only justifiable; it is in line with a new working culture in Nigeria whereby “worker-unrest” is now the only language government understands. Indeed, many interest groups, these days, fight for their rights especially allowances. At the moment, Medical doctors and workers of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) Limited (PHCN) etc. are all taking turns in the boxing ring.

Although no one knows who is likely to win any of the fights, it is obvious that the public will end up as the loser in every case. Also, no one can say with certainty how long each fight will last. A case in point is the dilemma of the nation’s Electricity workers. Since 1999 government had been ‘vigorously’ working on liberalizing the power sector to improve the nation’s public power supply. Last week, it concluded the sale of the PHCN to 14 successor companies without abiding by the agreement with Labour to first settle all its liabilities before the handover. The workers stood firm to disrupt any further move. The next day, government announced that it had succeeded in quenching the PHCN fire and that the anger of the warring workers would soon be a thing of the past. But if as the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) stated much earlier, Government had set aside about N384 billion to settle labour liabilities, why did it wait for the workers to assume a sabotage posture before pacifying them? Was it to task the patience of the workers or was it just demonstrating an unfamiliarity with the concept of governance with a human face?

Football is probably the best example of where our citizens have to fight for their allowances all the time. Each time players of our national team –the Super Eagles demand their allowances; the nation is made to believe that they are over demanding. The truth however is that they always ask for only their due which is also usually the previously agreed figure. Rather than encourage our leaders to keep faith, many analysts become sentimental and begin to accuse the players of being unpatriotic. Interestingly, although the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) has a marketing department that can deal directly with sponsors without any agent, thereby making savings, it allegedly prefers to use an agent who eventually retains 20 % of whatever funds that comes to the NFF. Some 4 months ago when our football managers decided to cut the allowances of the players by 50% they instructively refused to board a plane to the FIFA Confederations Cup until the Sports Minister intervened and their payment pledges were met.

Only last month, the female team-the super falcons travelled to Japan to play a two match friendly against the reigning world champions and they lost 0-2 in both games. Analysts attributed the poor performance of our team to loss of concentration occasioned by the refusal of their handlers to open up on the exact bonus to be paid to the players. In the end they were shortchanged although the officials put up some unpersuasive defence. One of the players was reported to have confided in the media that they were often short-changed at every competition outside the nation’s shores making many of the players to seek greener pastures in other African countries .Equatorial Guinea allegedly fielded about nine players of Nigerian origin to win the 2012 African Women’s Championship (AWC).

The point that is being made is that Nigerians enjoy depriving their compatriots of allowances. A few days back, postal services workers did not just complain about unpaid allowances, they also alleged that deductions made from their salaries concerning the National Housing Scheme were misappropriated. When added to the closure of universities for 3months now on account of the unfulfilled agreement between government and university lecturers since 2009, do we also need a “sovereign” national conference to alter our culture of fighting for allowances?

———————
Read this article in the Vanguard Newspapers
Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

cool good eh love2 cute confused notgood numb disgusting fail