The Trade Union
Congress of Nigeria (TUC) condemns in strong terms the recent military assault
on players of Taraba Football Club (who are members of Association of
Professional Footballers of Nigeria, APFON, an affiliate of the Congress) on
4th December, 2015 by some soldiers attached to Taraba State Government House
during a peaceful protest carried out by the players over non-payment of their
11 months salaries and match bonuses.
We are taken aback by
this incredulous development. Many of those players are married with children
and other dependants too. Like all other workers, the players are worthy of
their wages. It is therefore important that the Governor of the state
recognises that he is not doing the players any favour by paying them for
services duly rendered. There is absolutely no reason why those innocent
players should be recompensed with grievous bodily harm, especially in a
democratic setting and right at the doorstep of the Governor.
It is instructive to
state that the duty of the military is to protect the nation’s territorial
integrity and intervene to stem any unabated crisis in the land. It is
not to assault innocent workers who are demanding for their fundamental human
rights from their employer. The flagrant display of utter impunity and
insensitivity on the part of Taraba State Government is therefore totally
inexcusable.
Political leadership in
the country should know that Nigerians voted for the present administration
because they crave positive change. Thus any attempt to gag the voice of
popular and non-violent dissent to maladministration and neglect by the elected
few represents a dangerous precedent that must not be condoned. The
Nigerian people, especially workers of all categories and classes, reserve the
right to express their grievances and complaints as and when the need arises
without fear of molestation from any quarter. A peaceful protest such as the
one embarked on by the unarmed footballers should ordinarily have been
supervised by a protective cordon of men of the Nigerian Police Force and
not harassed by a bunch of poorly-oriented battle-ready, blood-thirsty,
unpatriotic, citizen-brutalising soldiers.
We demand that the
Taraba State Governor immediately pays the players their salaries and
allowances. Appropriate financial compensation for bodily harm and harassment
must also be paid to the players, while all medical bills for the treatment of
the injured amongst them must be promptly underwritten by the government.
Lastly we call on the Chief of Army Staff to ensure that all the erring
soldiers who descended so low as to physically assault the players are fished
out and dismissed from service lest they do more damage to the image of the
military. Our soldiers must be taught to comport themselves as
reasonable, law-abiding gentlemen of arms not blind trigger-happy thugs turned
against the people they swore to protect.
Nigerian workers watch
to see our demands on this issue met within the next few days, hoping that we
shall not be compelled to speak again or employ farther-reaching measures to
attain justice for the players of Taraba FC.
- WorldStage
Comments
Post a Comment