By Fátọ́lá Abdullahi...

On this day, 1st May, 2016, is the annually celeberated May day or Workers' day in Nigeria and some countries across the world. Workers' day holiday was first declared by the People Redemption Party (PRP) Government of Kano State in 1980 while it became a national holiday on May 1, 1981.

May day was carved out in memory of Haymarket Affair, a struggle embarked upon by workers in Canada and United States of America in agitation for "Eight-hour day with no cut in pay". They embarked on peaceful industrial actions/ strikes and rallies to demand for the Eight-hour work day on 1st May, 1886 and unfortunately, it led to the killing of several demonstrators by Chicago police during a clash between the workers and scabs in the city after two days.

On May 4, 1886, in reaction to the massacre on the 1st May and in support of the general strikes to request eight-hours work day, seven Chicago police were killed and atleast four civilians met their untimely death, leaving scores with various degrees of injury at Haymarket square, Chicago, during a staged initially peaceful protest which turned bloody after an unknown person threw bomb to the police. In 1889, May 1 was declared eight-hour work day in honor of the struggle and the struggle for the well-being of all workers by the International Workers' Congress, Paris.

The lessons deduced from the reasons for the proclamation of this day as workers' day internationally can be highlighted as imbibing unity in struggle, faith in struggle and peace in struggle. The Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC) who happens to be the mother of other labour unions in Nigeria, can only thrive on a struggle by suppressing all manners of crises that may evolve within the union with the lessons stated above imbibed in their culture and ethics.

It could be recalled that on March 12 and March 19, parallel elections were held in the quest to produce the new leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), won by Comrade Ayubba Wabba and Comrade Joe Ajaero respectively on the two election days disclosed above. Later in August, 2015, it was made known to the public that the two factions already reconciled. This kind of chaos should be avoided in future or suppressed if the factions are yet to reconcile to make NLC a single entity. United NLC stands divided they encounter difficulties in the union's agitation with government.

One of the sole reasons at present expected to gear NLC to remain united in struggle is their new joint proposal with Trade Union Congress (TUC) to the federal government on the fifty-six thousand naira  (N56,000) minimum wage and other beneficial packages for workers. A divided Labour union movement will render the agitation fruitless as the loop-hole, if in existence, may be harnessed to frustrate their efforts and may also cause the government to give less attention to the proposal. However, we hope that the government of the day will entertain the new development from the union and call for justification of the proposal and likewise negotiate on the benchmark or maintain the status quo as proposed by the unions.

Source:
https://ibadanelite./2016/05/01/may-day-n56000-minimum-wage-nlc-must-suppress-internal-factions/

I doubt if they can achieve this agitation;
1. Most states are finding it difficult to pay the current 18,000.
2. The economy is in bad shape now

Its better they propose visible/realistic figure rather than proposing unrealistic amount.

NOTE: don't forget that the officials can be bribe and they will drip the agitation.

Let's watch as event unfold