The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Tuesday gathered in Abuja to honour its pioneer President, Alhaji Hassan Sunmonu, in recognition of his decades-long contributions to the labour movement and the struggle for improved workers’ welfare.
The event coincided with the launch of his book, Organise, Don’t Agonise, and the celebration of his 85th birthday.
Speaking at the ceremony, Alhaji Sunmonu called for stronger collaboration among labour unions and associations across the country, stressing that unity remains critical to advancing workers’ interests.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s economic challenges despite its vast endowment of natural resources, the former labour leader said the country had no justification for widespread poverty if its mineral resources were properly harnessed.
“If Nigeria can harness its mineral resources, Nigeria has no business with poverty,” he said, lamenting the continued hardship faced by many citizens “despite what the Almighty God has given the country for free.”
According to him, many of the security challenges confronting the nation today are linked to the struggle over control of its abundant natural resources.
Alhaji Sunmonu recalled that under his leadership, the NLC presented a Charter of Demands to government, a process that eventually led to the institutionalisation of a national minimum wage in Nigeria.
Chairman of the occasion and former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, said reforms introduced during his tenure as military Head of State were aimed at reducing the dependence of the Nigerian labour movement on foreign funding during the Cold War era.
He explained that before the reforms, the labour movement was divided into two factions, with one allegedly funded by the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the other by the Soviet-era KGB.
According to Obasanjo, the reforms were necessary to ensure that Nigeria’s labour movement was funded by Nigerians and free from foreign influence.
“The reforms I introduced led to the creation of the NLC as the umbrella body of labour unions in Nigeria,” he said.
President of the NLC, Mr. Joe Ajaero, expressed concern over what he described as the deliberate exclusion of Nigerian workers from the presidential tax reform process, despite being among the country’s major taxpayers.
Mr. Ajaero described Alhaji Sunmonu as the founder of the modern NLC, noting that his legacy of agitation for improved workers’ welfare, including the struggle for a living minimum wage, remains relevant.
“The outcome of the process was a tax law that worsens hardship for workers and the poor,” Ajaero said. “A tax that taxes the national minimum wage is unfair and unacceptable.”
In his remarks, a former NLC President and Senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, challenged the current NLC leadership to engage the Federal Government constructively on the new tax laws, which took effect on January 1, 2026.
Senator Oshiomhole urged the NLC President to move beyond complaints and actively resist policies deemed unfavourable to workers.
“I listened to the NLC President lamenting that minimum wage workers are asked to pay tax. One of the lessons we learned from Alhaji Sunmonu is that if a tax law is wrong, fight it. Don’t just agonise,” he said.
Alhaji Sunmonu served as President of the Nigerian Labour Congress from 1978 to 1984 and was also a former General Secretary of the Organisation of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU).
The book launch and birthday celebration were attended by several dignitaries, including human rights lawyer and activist, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN); former Governor of Osun State, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola; President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Professor Chris Piwuna.
Also the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha; former NLC President, Mr. Ayuba Wabba; and Director-General of the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies, Mr. Issa Aremu, were in attendance.