The  Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) have appealed to the federal government to address challenges facing Nigerians before things get out of hand.

Presidents of the unions, Joe Ajaero and Fetus Osifo made the appeal on Wednesday in a joint speech to mark the  2024 Workers’ Day in Abuja.

They listed such challenges as ranging from harsh economy, insecurity, power/energy sectors and unemployment, among others.

They said: “Our nation continues to suffer variously as forces of centrifuge wield greater stranglehold upon it, as the citizenry grows more disillusioned.

“This has persistently reduced civic ownership of the policies, actions and institutions of governance, deepening and exacerbating the disconnect between the state and the people.

“The various agitations around the country for a restructured nation that will be more compact and thus nimble to work more effectively and efficiently in delivering greater benefits to the citizenry are manifestations of this,” they said.

The labour leaders added that the increasing spates of violent outbursts around the nation were all expressions of citizens’ frustration with the structures of governance in the country.

They noted that the violent expressions were manifested in the clamour for the Yoruba nation, IPOB and the Arewa elders’ open disenchantment with governance

“Our nation continues to manifest in its choice of government actions and decisions deeper pleadings to the forces of nepotism and primordiality.

“These forces, rather than abate in our governance journey, especially in a government that was elected in a heavily divisive election cycle, seemed to have strengthened its grip,” they said.

The duo appealed to President Bola Tinubu to use the opportunity of his power to work towards bringing all the divides in the nation together.

“We, after the last presidential election, had thought that the present government at the centre would have used the opportunity which the outcome of the last presidential election presented to work towards bringing all the divides in the nation together.

“We had truly expected a governance framework that would have reflected the nature of the presidential election results as announced by INEC which shows the ruling securing 36 per cent of the total votes cast.

“Such outcomes would have demanded a more humble and inclusive approach to governance if we are to heal the nation and make progress but that unfortunately has not been the case,” they said.

The labour leader, nevertheless, expressed hope that if the present government and its institutions implement policies that safeguard the dignity, unity and value of the workforce and the people, it would bolster democracy and fortify the supporting institutions.

“Conversely, failing to do so weakens democracy, leading to periods of crisis, as we continue to witness now in our nation as was further demonstrated by the recent outbursts in Ibadan few weeks ago and in other parts of the country.

“We believe that it is now time for us as a nation to come together to create a genuine dialogue of survival.

“Instead of pretending that all is well with our nation when we are in dire straits, it is crucial for all cleavages in our nation to be brought together to sincerely discuss the national question.

“We must restructure to reposition our nation to work for the majority,” they said.

The theme of the 2024 Workers’ Day is ‘People First’.

(NAN)