NTDC’s strike: Shame of the tourism sector

Strike, sit outs, protests are legitimate tools created by law as vistas for workers to peacefully and decently express their worries, call attention to their welfare, caution the management, make opinions, suggestions and call the attention of the management to progressive correctional issues.

It is only an irresponsible union that will sit or stand akimbo and jolly with the management while the welfare, working condition, and rights of the workers are being trampled upon or not attended to.

Thus, it is not strange for union leaders to call their members out either to strike, sit out, protest if there are genuine reasons and justification for such.

And it is also trite in unionism that strike, sit out and protest should be the last resorts after a sequential meeting, negotiation and rubbing minds have taken place and have broken down or there has been no point of equilibrium between the two parties – the management and the workers.

In a sane clime, unions are supposed to be partners in organisation development and they do because most of their leaders and officers are not just the run–off–the–mill members of the workforce, but intelligent and resourcefully deep educated and enlightened men and women of integrity who cannot be bamboozled, intimidated, monetised, used or led by the nose.

Strike is not supposed to be used as a means of blackmailing or intimidating the management. Union leaders are supposed to be clinical and detach steering off sentiments and personal loyalty when it comes to union issues, welfare and condition of service.

In an ideal situation,union leaders should be loyal to the service not to the occupant of an office, particulary a political office as that of the Director-General.

Union leaders are first employees of the organisation before being a member of the union and the essence of their employment is to serve the organisation and not to play politics.

The union leaders should know where to draw the lines between playing unionism and being dutiful at their post of responsibility.

Going by these propositions, it is not strange that the Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) Union leaders called their members out for strike recently++.

However, going by the pattern, trend, nature, proclaimed causes, justification, sequential occurrence, intention and modus operandi of the strikes actions that have been embarked upon at NTDC show the world that there is more to it than meet the eye.

The urge to strike surfaced immediately Mrs Sally Mbanefo was appointed as the Director-General in replacement of Otunba Olusegun Runsewe.

Also immediately  Mbanefo was appointed, economic recession took over which led to the shrinking of fund available to the corporation thus putting paid to access to free fund which can be employed and deployed to be a good DG.

There was the bitterness arising from the abrupt sack of her predecessor who because of his large heart had a sizeable followers and loyalists.

Making the situation a very bad one was the attitude of Sally Mbanefo who seems not to be as large-hearted as her predecessor.

Hence, workers seemed not happy that business was not as usual and that things were not the same again .

An examination of the reasons, modus operadi and demands of the workers show that the strike actions being embarked on at NTDC are out of tune.

Let’s read excerpts from some newspapers on the previous strikes:

On February 25, 2015, Nation newspaper under the headline “NTDC workers’ strike enters the second week”, ‘The workers have vowed to continue with the industrial action until the agency’s director general, Mrs Sally Mbanefo, is removed from office.

“Last week, official activities at the parastatals Abuja and zonal offices were stopped.

The workers, through their union, Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE), have made several allegations against Mrs. Mbanefo.

On September 3, 2015, in the Hallmark newspaper under the Headline, “Fears of sack forces NTDC boss to back down …as workers call off strike”.

“It would be recalled that the protesting staff, led by Comrade Anthony Benjamin, in a memo obtained by Hallmark accused the Director General of not properly mobilising funds for the activities of the corporation as it relates to administrative functions.

They accused her of incapacitating the staff with the claim of shortage of funds to perform the statutory functions of the corporation, but overhead would be released and go out through other sources.”

Daily Trust September 3 reported “Striking NTDC workers call for DG’s removal”

“On their demand, Comrade Kunama said: “We want her removal. She is killing the tourism sector. Except the government is not serious with tourism, but if the government wants to tap into the potentials of tourism to diversify the Nigerian economy, they have to remove her and bring in a professional that has a vision for the sector.”

The Federal Government seemed to have seen through the malevolent intent of the unions or the workers and refused to pander to the unreasonable demands of the workers and refused to relieve Sally of her job.

Though Sally was removed in November 2016, it should be a matter of curious logic and interest that between November 2016 and May 2017, three directors were in quick succession appointed and removed. Two of them, career officers and the other an outsider, were neveraccepted by the union

According to a presidency source; they were all removed majorly “due to the unnecessary antagonism against their appointments by the union”

After the removal of three appointed DGs in quick succession, the Federal Government brought in Folorunsho Coker, who has distinguished himself in the public sector, government and a memorable tenure as Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism.

The problem of Coker according to investigation started when he was moved to NTDC and he announced his love for domestic tourism as against the floundering of the meagre fund of the corporation on not so useful foreign fairs and travel markets

The union or workers quickly realised that Folorunsho Coker too being a cosmopolitan person cannot be pushed around or intimidated to do their biddings and  without observing the normal procedure and process guiding  strike action  commenced an action on  December 1, 2017 when he  was on a national assignment abroad.

On December 1, 2017  the Nation’s online, under the headline “Protesting workers seek sack of NTDC’s DG’

“Activities were paralysed at the headquarters of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), on Wednesday, following a protest by workers who called for the sack of its Director General, Mr Folorunsho Folarin Coker, for incompetence.

The workers accused Coker of highhandedness, saying the DG had not improved their welfare since his appointment.

They said they were disappointed by the “ugly development” in the corporation.

The workers noted that Coker illegally set up a project unit, which, they claimed, was not part of the NTDC’s line of activity. They said the unit was a conduit to siphon public funds.’

A few online publications graced their platforms with this news under different slants.

A cursory examination and contextual synthesis of the grievances of the workers or union under Sally Mbanefo and Coker extensively exposed the rot of a corporation.

The sole reason is “The removal of the DG without any concrete allegation or advocacy for workers”

During Sally Mbanefo’s tenure, it is on record that none of the allegations levelled against her were proved. All the allegations were found to be unfounded and malicious. The lady was never found wanting or guilty.

Going through the protest letter sent out in 2017 against Coker, one can see that it has no substance.

The fault is in not in the workers who are being teleguided sheepishly by a Union which seems to being sponsored and used by some external elements.

It is also a shame of the successive superintending minister who watch as NTDC is being hijacked by the union who appears to find listening ears and cooperation of the Minister.

The fact is, NTDC needs urgent and prompt surgical operation. It is a corporation full of those who are loyal to persons, not the office. Some of them have no specific assignment or schedule of duty. The union has been a weapon, instrument for disgruntled, selfish, inordinate ambitious, greedy persons who manipulate it at will to destabilize the corporation.

NTDC is now a pot where executive miscreants who collect salaries for doing nothing other than gossip and making themselves the carrier and implementers of wishful ambition of never- do wells who believe that NTDC is their family’s property .

The same crop of people used the union to work against Mbanefo, The same union worked against three of Sally’s successors on flimsy reasons.

The same union which is being sponsored is at work now on jejune and silly reasons asking not for welfare or a better package, but sacking of the Director – General because he is not smiling at them.

Any serious government will not only refuse to hearken to their silly demands, but will go a step further by appropriately restructuring and rightsizing the workers by separating those who want to work for the nation from those  who want to play cheap politics.

It is high time the corporation was weaned from the clutches of political civil servants NTDC should be cleaned and straightened up.`