Contributions of ‘third sector’ to Nigeria’s development

 

Nigeria celebrated her 63rd independence anniversary last Sunday, October 1, 2023 in a sombre manner. The celebration was low-key, devoid of the usual merriment, gala night and fanfare at the Eagles Square where such national events are often held. There were symposium, thanksgiving services at the mosque and church and national broadcast by President Bola Tinubu. The president in his speech lauded the vision of our founding fathers and mothers as well as our modest achievements as a nation. A sound bite from his speech says “Nigeria is remarkable in its formation and essential character. We are a broad and dynamic blend of ethnic groups, religions, traditions and cultures. Yet, our bonds are intangible yet strong, invisible yet universal. We are joined by a common thirst for peace and progress, by the common dream of prosperity and harmony and by the unifying ideals of tolerance and justice.”

Tinubu in his speech more or less gave an update on his July 31, 2023 national broadcast where he reeled out the various economic relief packages to cushion the harsh cost of living that is the upshot of the removal of subsidy on petrol in his maiden inauguration speech on May 29, 2023. The president said inter alia that “I am attuned to the hardships that have come. I have a heart that feels and eyes that see. I wish to explain to you why we must endure this trying moment. Those who sought to perpetuate the fuel subsidy and broken foreign exchange policies are people who would build their family mansion in the middle of a swamp. I am different. I am not a man to erect our national home on a foundation of mud. To endure, our home must be constructed on safe and pleasant ground.”

I have granted several media interviews looking at the evolution of Nigeria, contributions of our political parties and electoral management bodies, our economic growth and development and so on and so forth. However, not many understand the contribution of the Third Sector to our socioeconomic development as a nation. That is what I intend to do in this piece.  Toolkit by Nothernbridge describes the ‘third sector’ as an umbrella term that covers a range of different organisations with different structures and purposes, belonging neither to the public sector (i.e., the state) nor to the private sector (profit-making private enterprise).  Third sector organisations include charities; voluntary and community organisations; social enterprises and cooperatives and think tanks and private research institutes (this does not include universities and colleges).

In a sense, the Third Sector belongs to the wider civil society organisations. According to the United Nations Development Programme popularly known as UNDP, “[CSOs] can be defined to include all non-market and non-state organisations outside of the family in which people organise themselves to pursue shared interests in the public domain. Examples include community-based organisations and village associations, environmental groups, women’s rights groups, farmers’ associations, faith-based organisations, labour unions, co-operatives, professional associations, chambers of commerce, independent research institutes and the not-for-profit media.” As we mark the occasion of our country’s 63rd independence anniversary, what can we say has been the contribution of this Third Sector or CSOs?

This sector has achieved a lot for Nigeria. CSOs contributed immensely to the decolonisation struggle of Nigeria. The workers’ union under Pa Michael Imodu embarked on several strikes and protests not only to seek the improvement of the welfare of workers but also for Nigeria to gain independence. Since independence, successive labour leaders such as Hassan Sumonu, Pascal Bafyau, Adams Oshiomhole, Ayuba Waba, and the incumbent Joe Ajaero, have led labour movements to demand better welfare conditions for Nigerian workers and the masses as a whole, take for instance the latest heartwarming news about the 15-point Memorandum of Understanding that Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress were able to achieve on October 2, 2023.

Recall that after Tinubu removed the petrol subsidy on May 29, he set up a Federal Government committee to meet with labour unions to work out the economic relief packages to give to Nigerian workers. The committee was to sit and finalise deliberations in eight weeks. This has dragged for four months. In the course of the time, labour unions embarked on peaceful protests and a two-day warning strike. This didn’t yield much and the workers’ unions gave an ultimatum to commence indefinite strike by October 3, 2023 if the demands of the unions are not met. Nigerians waited with bated breath. It is noteworthy that the threat by the workers’ union led to the marathon meetings between October 1 and 2 before the unions eventually shelved the strike for one month to enable the government implement the agreements reached.

The gist of the MoU signed by the government and labour unions are as follows:  The Federal Government grants a wage award of N35,000 to all FG workers beginning from September, pending when a new national minimum wage is expected to have been signed into law; a minimum wage committee to be inaugurated within one month from the date of the agreement; suspension of Value Added Tax  collection on diesel for six months beginning from October 2023; a vote by the Federal Government of N100bn for the provision of high capacity CNG buses for mass transit in Nigeria; and the government plan to implement various tax incentive measures for private sector and the general public.

Agreement was reached in line with relevant ILO conventions and Nigerian Labour Act on the leadership crisis rocking the National Road Transport Union of Nigeria and purported proscription of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria. This is to be resolved on or before October 13. Also contained in the MoU are the outstanding salaries and wages of tertiary education workers in federal-owned educational institutions referred to Ministry of Labour and Employment for further engagement; Federal Government’s commitment to pay N25,000 per month for three months starting from October 2023 to 15 million households, including vulnerable pensioners; increase in its initiatives on subsidised distribution of fertilisers to farmers across the country; and a call out to state government through the National Economic Council and Governors’ Forum to implement wage award for their workers, with similar consideration to be given to local government and private sector workers.

The last leg of the 15-point agreements  include the Federal Government’s commitment to the provision of funds as announced by the President on July 31 broadcast for Micro and Small Scale Enterprises; joint visitation to be made to the refineries to ascertain their rehabilitation status; all parties committing to abide by the dictates of social dialogue in all future engagements; and the NLC and TUC accepting to suspend for 30 days the planned indefinite nationwide strike, while the MoU will be filed with the relevant Court of competent jurisdiction within one week as consent judgment by the Federal Government.

This is yet another commendable feat by Nigeria’s Third Sector, particularly when one considers the paltry offers made by the president in his July 31 and October 1 broadcasts. But for the labour unions, the price of petrol would have increased to about N1,000 per litre given the current exchange rate. Furthermore, the labour unions have achieved the wage award increment from N25,000 to N35,000 and to cover all federal workers rather than the low-grade workers mentioned by the president. Instead of six months, the wage award will now lapse when the new minimum wage comes up next year.  VAT has also been removed from diesel for six months while the conditional cash transfer of initial N8,000 for 12 million beneficiaries has now been increased to N25,000 for three months for 15 million beneficiaries. This is the power of dialogue. Remember the popular saying that it is better to jaw-jaw than to war-war!

Apart from the labour unions, non-governmental organisations such as the Campaign for Democracy, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, Centre for Democracy and Development, YIAGA Africa and Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project as well as professional bodies such as the Nigerian Bar Association have worked together to deepen Nigeria’s democracy. Many of them fought together with the labour unions for the return to civil rule. They have fought corruption and human rights abuses. They have promoted transparency and accountability in government and in the electoral process. The Third Sector therefore needs to be appreciated and commended for their numerous contributions to national development.