The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has decided to honour and immortalize some of its past leaders, such as Nigeria’s first labour leader, Pa Michael Imoudu; former NLC President during the dictatorships of Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha, Mr Paschal Bafyau; and Mr Olaitan Oyerinde, the former Principal Secretary to Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomole.
This was reached after its National Executive Meeting (NEC) meeting in Abuja, where it decided to name the Labour House in Lagos as the Pa Michael Imoudu House; the Labour House in Abuja as Pascal Bafyau House and the large auditorium within the Labour House premises, where the NLC holds its NEC meetings and other events, had beened named after the late Oyerinde.
Pa Imoudu started his working career as a lineman in the department of posts and telecommunications, before moving on to the Nigeria Railway Corporation., where he developed a deep interest in trade unionism and politics, fired on by the colonialists that exploited African workers on the basis of their class and race.
It was this heady and potent brew that fired Imoudu into action. He organised and became the first president of the Nigeria Union of Railwaymen in 1940, and his tenure in office was marked by unprecedented militancy.
He first came into the limelight when he led over 3,000 railway workers to Government House to put workers’ grievances to the colonial governor.
Following the great depression of 1931 in the metropolitan countries and in the colonies, Pa Imoudu organised and got registered the Railway Workers’ Union. The mission was to stop the movement of production capital used to establish commerce and assemble exploration and extraction of resource machinery.
He went on to become the first President of the independently formed Nigeria Labour Congress. He was so much committed to this first love that he reportedly gave out half of his salary to sponsor trade union activities. Having spent so much on unionism, he was unable to build a house of his own after 50 years of labour.
He died on July 22, 2005, at the age of 103.
Mr. Bafyau, who was the president of the NLC between 1988 and 1994, is best remembered for his efforts to achieve a strong and united Labour Movement, which was achieved in 1988 by the uniting of the two factions of the Congress, the Democrats and Progressives.
He however came under intense criticism for conniving with the military government and selling pro-democracy activists out during the tumultuous years following the annulment of the June 12 presidential elections in 1993.
The Adamawa-born labour leader died in Abuja on 15th May, 2012, his way to the National Hospital after suffering cardiac arrest at his residence.
Oyerinde, who was serving as the Principal Secretary to the Governor Oshiomole, himself the immediate past NLC president, was killed on May 5, 2012, in a case that is yet to be solved and has caused Oshiomole to criticize the police and the Attorney-General of the Federation’s office on the handling of the case.