15082018 - FIRST LADY OTHERS SHINE AT VANGUARD AWARDS

SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 15, 2018, PAGE 31
By Yetunde Arebi
She bestrode the world of
labour journalism like a
colossus. For three
decades, Funmi Komolafe’s
professional career won her
awards from the labour
movement. However, the Zenith
came recently when, in a ceremony
to mark its 40th anniversary, the
Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)
recognised Komolafe’s
distinguished contributions to
union activism. Sunday Vanguard
spoke to the former labour editor
on the award and the state of the
labour movement in Nigeria
You have been recognised
by the Nigerian Labour
Congress alongside other
people. What was the award
for?
Funmi Komolafe: The award
was in recognition of one’s
contributions to the emancipation
of workers’ rights, working
women’s rights, child and
maternal issues and general
workplace issues. I was the only
journalist that was given the
award and this is the first time the
NLC has ever given that kind of
award to anyone. It was organised
to mark the 40th anniversary of
the NLC. It came as a surprise
because if it had come to me when
I was working full-time as a
journalist, it may have been
insinuated that I had been
compromised. But it is coming
after I left full-time practice. So, I
find this very significant and very
special. However, I must say that
before this award, I had got many
others, from Benue State NLC;
Food and Beverages Senior Staff
Association; PENGASSAN, etc.
But this coming from the central
labour organisation makes it very
unique. An award was also given
to Tunji Oyeleru posthumously.
Oyeleru was Vanguard’s ace
photo journalist who died in a
road accident while on a labour
assignment. Looking back, I want
to acknowledge the fact that I
worked in a place where one was
allowed to work to the best of one’s
ability. In other words, kudos also
goes to my employers because I
believe that this award came more
as a reward for the work I did.
This feat couldn’t have
come cheap. What would you
say were your peculiar
challenges while on the job?
Funmi Komolafe: There were so
many challenges. I am sure you
will remember that I was almost
killed by irate workers in Lagos
State during a strike. I give God
the glory that I did not get the
award posthumously. Journalism
itself is quite challenging. It is not
the best of job for women, but it is
also a very interesting job. You
must be committed to the
profession; you must keep your
integrity; that is very important.
Let me say that while reporting,
most of the time, sources want to
use you to achieve their own
objectives. As a journalist, you
must be able to distinguish
between fact and fiction; you must
be able to save yourself from being
used by people with selfish
interests. Once you do that, you
are able to keep your professional
integrity. And it makes people
respect you more. When you begin
to ask for ‘brown envelope’ or
gratification or anything from
anybody, you lose respect from
your sources and compromise
your professional integrity. I give
God all the glory because working
and covering labour for 30 years,
I never had a single libel case
against me. Someone once took
us to court for a story I wrote but
Irate workers nearly killed me during
a strike — Funmi Komolafe, award-winning
former labour editor
• Says Nigeria left her flanks too open
•Funmi Komolafe’
the court asked, ‘What is the
business of Vanguard in this case?
Somebody issued a press
statement and Vanguard
published it. So, what’s the issue?’
And the case was struck out. I
never went to court and I never
caused the newspaper to be sued
for libel. But it leads me to an
important point, and it is
important to journalism too.
These days when I read some
stories in newspapers, I ask myself,
‘Did these stories pass through a
news editor? Did they pass through
an editor?’ I think journalism
should not be an all-comers’
affair. I believe that anyone who
must practice journalism must go
to a school of journalism even if
only for one year. Because people
don’t seem to appreciate the laws
of libel, they think because you are
a journalist, you can publish
anything. No, it is not in all cases
that you publish and be damned.
You may be the damned if you
don’t adhere to the rules of the
profession. I also found out that a
lot of people are ignorant. They
don’t know where to draw the line
between what is libellous and
what is not. You can’t be in a hurry
to make headlines. If you make
headlines today and your paper is
sued for N20m tomorrow for libel,
what is the gain? Apart from your
reputation being put on the line,
you also put that of the paper. But
I must say that covering labour
was not easy, it was not a tea party
affair. Labour is some kind of
politics on its own. Different
perspectives have split the labour
movement ideological camps. You
have to weigh the two sides to the
story before taking a position; and
you must take the position based
on principle and not what benefits
you as what benefits you as a person
may not be in the interest of the
people you are protecting or the
employers. It was very tough as you
have to work with colleagues in the
newsroom. And some editors are
very hostile to labour. But I think
the case of Vanguard is special.
Vanguard remains the top paper as
far as labour reporting is concerned
because I know that the publisher
believes in a vibrant trade union.
He believes that trade unions are
among the pillars of democracy;
otherwise you will have a
government that would take people
for a ride. If you remember the
many strikes of Comrade Adams
Oshiomhole: the anti-deregulation
strike, the fuel price hike strike,
these were not strikes based on wage
issues but on economic issues; they
were based on political decisions
that had economic impact on
workers and their families. So,
covering labour gives one a wide
perspective. But, again, you have to
read the history of labour
movement, apply it, take your time
studying labour leaders, their
ideologies, and when they go
wrong, you will be able to say they
are wrong.
Let’s look at things from the
female angle. Given your 30
years’ experience in labour
reporting, how far will you say
the Nigerian woman has gone
in labour struggle?
Funmi Komolafe: Oh, they
have gone a long way. It could
be better though. Nigeria is
one of the countries that have
ratified conventions to end
discrimination at work. In other
words, what is takes to be a man
is what it takes to be a woman in
Nigeria as long as you are doing
the same job. We have also
signed the Maternity Rights
Convention which entitles the
woman to go on maternity leave
and still earn her pay. I remember
the position labour took when
First Bank decided to sack
couples working for the bank.
The bank had given couples
working for it the option that one
of them must resign. The
organised labour took it up. I
remember that I discussed with
some of the then labour leaders:
Who would be the victim? It is
the woman because the man
would say ‘let me go on, you stay
at home’. But for the fact that the
organised labour fought against
it, First Bank would have gone
ahead to do it. NLC rose against
it to say that these are
individuals who may have met
in the bank and got married. ‘You
may keep them at different
branches, but not to say one must
resign for the other. Considering
the type of society we are, it is
the woman that will be affected’.
So far, I think we have done well.
Nigeria is a respected member
of the International Labour
Organisation (ILO). We have
ratified the Child’s Right Law,
we are not in support of child
labour and you can’t find
anybody under 18 years
employed in public institutions.
Neither will you find such in
private institutions. Nigeria has
done well, but we can do better.
A lot of people believe
that labour unionism is
dead or lost
its poignancy
with the exit
of Comrade
Oshiomhole.
What is your
take?
F u n m i
Komolafe: I
won’t say so,
although I must
admit that
d u r i n g
Oshiomhole’s
time, labour
was very
vibrant. But,
again, it
depends on
t h e
government of
the day and
the leadership.
Different
people have
different styles.
Some people
prefer the
I am sure you
will remember
that I was
almost killed
by irate
workers in
Lagos State
during a strike.
I give God the
glory that I did
not get the
award
posthumously
military style. In this present
administration, the strike
embarked was not successful
because it was a new
government. However,
sectorial strikes have been
going on. They may not evolve
into national strikes, but then
discussion on the National
Minimum Wage is on-going.
So, we will see how it goes. If
government behaves
responsibly, then there will not
be need for any strike. We need
to explore other avenues before
a national strike is declared.
So, I insist that the union is not
in sleeping mode but things
could be better. Presently, there
are no issues to necessitate a
national strike. Maybe that is
why we have relative peace.
But unionism is not only
about strikes. Apart from
the National Minimum
Wage, what else does the
labour union do for
Nigerian workers?
Funmi Komolafe: Don’t forget
that the primary responsibility
is to union members and not to
the general public. So they
have their machinery.
Workplace issues are being
discussed. Recently, NLC put
pressure on President Buhari
not to sign the African Free
Trade Agreement. And I
support it wholeheartedly. I
think what the president did is
right. If the agreement was
signed, more people are going to
lose their jobs here and we will be
creating jobs elsewhere. This is
what happened when Structural
Adjustment Programme (SAP) was
introduced and our borders were
thrown open and all sorts of
imported goods came in and our
factories died. We have never
recovered from that. We are all
patronizing goods from abroad,
some of which are not necessarily
better than ours. I think the
problem is that the cost of
production in Nigeria is very high
compared to so many African
countries because our companies
cannot produce at optimal levels.
I think labour acted
very well to protest and
the protest made the
president to abandon
the agreement. That
is why I am surprised
that the manufacturing
industry is asking the
president to review it
when it is not in the
interest of workers and
business. We must put
our house in order to
protect jobs. For
instance in China,
foreigners are not
allowed to open retail
shops. If you open a
retail shop, you must
not be seen there. You
must hire a Chinese
who will be doing the
business. There are
some Nigerian
restaurants there but the
people serving the food
are the Chinese. We
have left our flanks too
open.
C
M
Y
K