*Recounts how he fought IBB over SAP, others

By Francesca Hangeior

The Immediate Past President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and the International Trade Union Confederation, ITUC, Ayuba Wabba, has mourned the demise of former President of NLC, Ali Chiroma, describing him as an epitome of courage and character.

Chiroma died Tuesday in Maiduguri, the Borno State Capital, at the age of 91 years.

In a statement, Wabba gave insight into the late Labour veteran’s struggles for a better living conditions for workers and the Nigerian masses, saying “A great Iroko has fallen.”

According to him, “I have just received the news of the demise of the second President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Ali Chiroma at the ripe old age of 91. Comrade Ali Chiroma died peacefully in the company of his family and friends bringing an end to about seven decades of service and commitment to the working people of Nigeria and the masses. A Great Iroko has fallen.

“Comrade Ali Chiroma was an epitome of courage and character. He served as the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the hey days of military rule. “Comrade Ali Chiroma served tall with gusto and pride despite the heavily mined field of military dictatorship.

“The steel in Comrade Ali Chiroma was most profoundly exemplified in the epoch of the resistance by the NLC and her allies in the labour movement against the Structural Adjustment Programme, SAP, of the General Ibrahim Babangida administration.

“After one of the major protests against SAP, the military came down hard on the NLC and invaded the national secretariat of the NLC. A number of officers of the Congress were picked up and detained by the military. Comrade Ali Chiroma had travelled out of town.

“When Comrade Ali Chiroma returned from his trip, he quickly drove to the detention centre and announced to the bemused soldiers that he was the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress and that he came to know why his comrades were detained.

“He demanded that if the soldiers were not willing to release the detained comrades, they should also take him into custody because he was not leaving without his comrades. Of course, the soldiers grabbed him and shoved him into the cells with his comrades.

“Comrade Ali Chiroma lived a life of pristine principles and unwavering commitment to advancing the welfare of workers and social justice in Nigeria. Comrade Ali Chiroma led from the front and refused to shy away from speaking truth to power.

“Comrade Ali Chiroma made a lot of sacrifices for the progress, unity and solidarity of the labour movement from his mother union, the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria and the Nigeria Labour Congress where he rose to the pinnacle of his career.

“I am privileged to drink from the fountain of wisdom of a great iroko like Comrade Ali Chiroma. In death, Comrade Ali Chiroma continues to inspire.

“I commiserate with the immediate family of Comrade Ali Chiroma, the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress and other workers’ representative organisations in Africa and around the world on the fall of this Giant and Great Iroko that has fallen.

“Your good works, institutional impact and profound contributions to the task of nation building are your legacy written in gold and etched in the sand dunes of times, forever!”

Wabba added that Chiroma “was two term member of the Governing body of the International Labour Organisation and served on the committee of freedom of Association.

He was a member of SEC 5, 1983 of NIPSS, and a recipient of the national honours of MON.”