Repair Eleme Axis Of East-West Road

Last Monday, the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) made good the threat it jointly issued penultimate Tuesday with its industrial counterpart, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) to down tools over the deplorable condition of the Eleme axis of the East-West Road.
NUPENG’s 3-day warning strike which had the blessing of the Rivers State Council of Trade Union Congress (TUC) is expected to end midnight today just as PENGASSAN’s seven-day strike notice issued last Thursday elapses tomorrow.
Speaking with newsmen after the joint protest that preceded the 3-day warning strike, the Rivers State Chairman of NUPENG, Comrade Godwin Eruba, the Zonal Secretary of PENGASSAN in Port Harcourt, Comrade Michael Amadi and the State TUC Chairman, Comrade Chika Onuegbu variously lamented the deplorable condition of the Eleme axis of the East-West Road which negligence had caused severe pains and sufferings to their workers.
Comrade Amadi further bemoaned the psychological trauma experienced by oil workers whose vehicles have been badly damaged on the road, wondering why that particular axis of the East West Road which is the only access to the economic hub of the nation could be so neglected to that level of decay.
Even as both Eruba and Onuegbu harped on the need to urgently fix the road to avoid full scale industrial action, NUPENG’s General Secretary, Mr. Isaac Aberare in Lagos, Sunday, expanded the grievances that informed their action, but stated categorically that the Union was “also unhappy over the bad state of roads across the nation.”
Unless reason prevails, PENGASSAN, which 7-day ultimatum ends tomorrow, may ceteris paribus, embark on a full scale industrial action to press home its demands, most of which, like that of its NUPENG counterpart bother on non-labour issues.
Good as strike action could be in setting the tone for resolving trade disputes, The Tide is not happy that these Unions have tended to use every reason to embark on strike, even when strike is supposed to be the last option in trade dispute considerations.
It is even more difficult to understand how strike over a non-labour issue as the deplorable condition of the Eleme axis of the East/West Road would be the best approach to persuade government to do its biddings. To go on strike on the account of the road therefore, is to punish the ordinary Nigerian and endanger the economy for no good reason.
The Tide believes that as Unions whose heavy trucks contribute to the pressure, wear and tear on the roads, they need to show understanding and even use their privileged positions to attract attention to the road responsibly. They can lobby the Niger Delta Ministry, FERMA, NDDC among others to ensure the timely maintenance of the road.
Even so, they can shame government by raising funds to carry out minor maintenance at areas worse hit by the damage. After all it also saves their trucks and their business. But to stop work is to expose an embarrassing lack of understanding and patriotism.
Even at that, it is unacceptable that a road as economically strategic to Nigeria as the Eleme axis of the East-West Road would be allowed to remain in such state of disrepair for so long. As a federal road, the business community must join the Rivers State Government in calling attention to the road.
On the other hand, it should be made abundantly clear that there are processes for embarking on strike in Nigeria. While we expect government to ensure the enforcement of the rules guiding trade disputes, those who wake up any day to threaten or embark on strike should be sanctioned to serve as a deterrent to others.
It is even becoming curious that all of a sudden, organizations that have had to put up with worse times now want to go on strike. While we do not want to read any political motive to the trend, we think that Nigerians must borrow a leaf from the international environment and adopt the best practice in every area of the nation’s endeavour.