The Adewale Adeyanju Footprints
Why I Never Believed in Shutting Down Ports – Adeyanju
Dr. Adewale Adeyanju, President General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria gives an insight into his eight year tenure of two terms and how he used persuasion and dialogue to sustain industrial harmony. He spoke with Ismail Aniemu
Excerpt
Tell us about your journey in the labour movement and how you have impacted the maritime sector as your tenure winds down?
I want to thank you, Ismail for the support we have been enjoying from you. You are one of the frontliners in maritime journalism today. I have served under previous administrations and I can see that your professionalism and consistency reflect in your reports.
Unionism is from the home where everyone can practice it. Your wife might be your General Secretary, while you are the head of the home and your children are the sub-secretary.
I started as a docker in the industry and I passed through all the ranks. From docker to tally clerk to foreman to stevedore supervisor so on
From there I grew to become an operations manager in one of the foremost companies in those days. I can tell you that I have passion for the job and I believe in what I am doing. All my life is about labour.
Those ranks I passed through helped me when I joined the union, because I knew the dos and don’ts of being an administrator. I started with Chief Ogunleye, a mentor, the founding father of dockworkers, who groomed me very well when I was with him. I was one of the students under him that was given an opportunity to have a training with ITF.
It was this Chief Ogunleye that was the President and late Chief Abam was the General Secretary of the defunct dockworkers. Concerning international exposure, it was Chief Abam and Chief Ogunleye who brought ITF to this country.
When I was elected this year, after my confirmation as the Vice President of ITF globally, the first person that called me to pray for me was Chief Ogunleye. He said I never allowed the dream to die. He prayed for me, Chief Ogunleye is in his 80s now.
He came with his family to grace the dockworkers day as a founding father, including Chief Uzoije Ukaumunna.
Because of all the crises that engulfed maritime workers in Nigeria in those days i got involved, I even brought in the peace that everybody is talking about today. I came into this administration together with Tony Nted, my predecessor, brother and friend.
We came from a period where nobody recognised dockworkers. Then, they saw us as troublesome people but today, we have changed the narrative.
Then there was no condition of service and rules. There was nothing like insurance, terminal benefit, gratuity and pension. The only leave we observed in a year or in a day was when it rained and even inside the rain, they subjected dock workers to work.
I met crisis upon crisis. Backwardness was the order of the day. I was happy when Chief Ogunleye was telling the history about what they were and how much they were paid. The amount I met that belonged to dockworkers was about N1.29kobo. That amount was for ordinary days: Monday to Fridays. We used to count from Friday night, Saturday and Sunday. That was N3.29 kobo. It was a bonus for us.
One opportunity that came to me was the need for me to go in fully as aunion isn’t. I told myself that there’s need for me to address most of all those mistakes so that we could have what we now call condition of service for dock workers.Because I knew the problems, solutions were not farfetched.
When I worked with Irabor as treasurer, we came in when the port was facing concession, there was crisis upon crisis, inter-union dispute, and factions here and there. It was like a civil war.
I can say Irabor came in at the wrong time. The man spent almost four years trying to protect the welfare of the workers. As he was battling with the dockworkers, he was battling with shipping. He was equally battling with his own union and NPA where we had 13,000 workforce and they were reduced to about 2000.
We were thinking that it was not going to favor us but Chief Irabor said, the era of somebody being in his house and collecting salary must stop. That was the Akube time. It took us two years before we were able to convince our members that we were going for permanent employment. Some agreed and some disagreed. Some believed they don’t have energy to work again and crisis engulfed.
Dr. Okonjo Iweala , our madam, who did not know the type of job we were doing, was the finance minister under Yar Adua then , who was saying they should pay all the dockworkers N40,000 or she adopted what we call Argentinian style of sending all the dockworkers away. That was why we had revolution and it caused a lot of uproar but we resisted it
Under the leadership of Captain Abidoye who happened to be the chairman of the condition of service for dockworkers, we spent close to three months in Akodo before we were able to come out with the blueprint. It was not as easy as I’m saying it now because we built on that crisis that we were able to come out and convince the workers that we could go into three modes of operations.
It’s a port operation where we have payment by tonnage, permanent employment, and time-related wages.
We were able to tell those on container, the amount they should be collecting per container, divided by the number of manning level that was on board the vessel. If they were five or six, if they distributed to four other containers, they could divide that amount by the number of the workers and some people agreed on this.
From there, they were enlightened and I was able to go from one place to another. It took me about a year before everybody keyed in. Those are the good things we have done on behalf of the dockworkers.
Today, the dockworkers, are one of the best workers you can think of, in terms of reform and welfare in the maritime industry
I wasn’t the one that laid the foundation. My seniors did the foundation and I tried to build on it. This looks easy because I was part of the developing process from previous administrations
I know the background, this leadership is an offshoot of those prominent leaders. My involvement has been consistent over the years
If you are talking of shipping, I worked on board in vessels, and I know their policy, and arrangement. There’s no way I’ll be deceived of what is going on in shipping. That is why when I came on board,
I declared state of emergency in shipping as a result of poor condition of service that was going on there, where the salary of the workers was nothing to write home about.
With the support of everyone, we have what we now call minimum standard in shipping today that is even better than the national minimum wage.
I started the fight, and today, to the glory of God and with everyone’s support, we were able to achieve it and it is part of my joy.What they said cannot happen for shipping workers in 20 to 35 years has happened within my 8 year tenure of two terms.
I was threatened and some of my executives asked if it can be achieved .They said my predecessors tried but were unable to get a result.
I was determined to continue. I cannot thank people enough. People like the former Minister of Transportation, Muazu Sambo and Barrister Jime who headed the shippers’ council. He directed him to listen to the union.
We also had an agreement with the stakeholders. There was the back and forth issues of some of the stakeholders who were trying to sabotage the efforts of the union and that of Mr. Jime, of shipper’s council. Before this, our wonderful brother came in, and was able to support in achieving the glory.
From there, we went to seafarers too. Today, the seafarers are no longer the way they were before. I want to thank all the presidents and the executives from the four branches, who set the target. I told them to give me information and I promised to handle it that is what happened.
Seafarerers today are paid in dollars and local currencies. Who wants to create crisis now? It is when they are not well remunerated as professionals they form crisis. Today, the seafarers can be proud of their job.
We have National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC) for them the same way we have NJIC for dock workers. We also have for shipping now. Those are part of the good things we have done.
In all the four branches of the union, Nigeria Port Authority’s (NPA) salary was not increased for years and when I came on board, they hid it from me. I didn’t know what was going on there until crisis happened, and there was a fight among themselves before we knew that.
They had not increased their salary for 18 years so I had to intervene. The then MD NPA, Mohammed Bello Koko had a dialogue with us. I told him that I’m representing workers under my command and it was unfair for 18 good years not to have increased their salary.
He asked me if we were are sleeping for almost 20 years. I said, we were not sleeping but we had awoken to get the right for the workers. I gave it to him too because I dragged him to the then NLC president, Comrade Ayuba Wabba who happened to know what was going on in the salaries and wages commission.
He was a member of that committee.
Immediately I told him about what is going on in NPA, he said there was no problem and he would handle it and he handled it on our behalf. Those are good achievements we have made.
My problem in some quarter is, hiding things from leaders. How is the leader expected to succeed? He cannot solve the problem he doesn’t know about. That was part of what happened in shipping and in some other branches too.
They didn’t want us to have minimum standard and group negotiations. They want plant by plant negotiation so that they can be paid 2% and 3%. What is 2% of my total earnings?
It’s nothing to write home about. Our agreement is very robust in shipping, seafaring and dockworkers. The dockworkers have started collecting their arrears now.
If you have heard what they are saying about what we did for them, it is fantastic. It is part of the achievements. To crown it all, there is peace if here’s no peace in a place, there won’t be progress. We’ve gotten progress in all our sectors. Our union is recognized by all the stakeholders and I align myself with all the stakeholders.
How were you able to avoid incessant shutdown of ports?
Well, as a professional on the job, I have a very good think-tank. Afterall, the only thing that Nigerians have is the port and shutting down the port within the labour law or unnecessarily is like sabotaging one’s self. I believe in constructive engagement
If I ground the ports now, millions of dollars that the government is going to lose in terms of revenue generation will be enormous. The investors will be questioning the kind of union they have. It happened in the past when shutting down the port was the order of the day. I learnt from all those mistakes of the past.
When you shut down the ports without reason, the you may be seen as an enemy of the state by government, stakeholders, freight forwarders, terminal operators, investors and shipping companies.
You are not elected to shut down the port operations just like that because it’s an international trade gateway. You are elected to take care of the welfare of the workers. If that agreement between you and your employer does not work well, strike is the last option. And you must weigh it and follow the labour law after exhausting all channels of dialogue
Under your watch, there has been new appointment of DG NIMASA, MD NPA, MD of NIWA. These people met the Union in full gear. Going into 2025, what are your priority areas of attention that you want the CEOs to focus on in the interest of workers?
We have had so many MDs and DGs in the past years who have the love for this great country in their hearts and equally have the love for the workers in their hearts.
Let me say that President Tinubu has made very good choices in the pedigree and quality of persons appointed into the maritime industry
The other appointment that we are so happy about is the appointment of the current MD NPA whom throughout his life has been an NPA man. He’s just like me that grew from labour and rose to operations manager. I am an insider and I know all the four arms of this maritime union . I don’t have any other place to go other than this maritime industry.
The president should find a way to help the naira to regain strength.The dollar has taken over a naira and the naira is trying to keep up with the Dollar. The government should strengthen it, because our investors are running away.
The port is as empty as if we are having a football match which involves Arsenal and Chelsea. There’s no traffic in our ports but go to Cotonou, Cotonou is booming. People have always compared Nigerian port with Cotonou but I have always said they have few barges in that place and a little population but with what they have they were able to build efficiency.
We implore the new MD of NPA to make sure that training is prioritised . It is not about sending me to Micheal Imoudu here who happens to be one of us, they can send us to other African countries and European countries for training and global exposure because the port operation is no longer a local one.
Look at what is going on in warri Port. Warri port needed a face-lift, likewise Calabar Port that needs to be dredged. Why are we using Lagos port alone?
What happened to Port Harcourt, Warri, Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom. It is because the scope of operation is expanding everyday.
The shippers council man is doing a good job in that department. He has been going to various areas, having shippers operations in those places. It is in Ondo, Edo, Bayelsa and so many states.
The appointments the president made this time for us in the maritime sector is one of the best set of appointments. We are having people who know the job and what they are doing.
Barrister Akutah is a workaholic. He moves from one state to the other. He was in Bornu and from there he went to Ogun recently. He is expanding the scope of operations and trying to generate revenue for the country.
The National Assembly and federal government should do something about the shippers council law to enable him(Akutah)function better
How are you managing employers workforce downsizing in the face of reduced volume of trade?
We try to ensure our members who are laid off get compensated adequately.This is our priority and foundation for negotiating.
We are no longer running unionism of the past. We are running what we call management trade unionism. You put everything you have on the table for us to know.
Where are we and where is the fate of the workers? In line with our collective agreement, what does it say? There are areas of redundance but when we look at what is inside the book, we are about to reduce some of the workers as a result of the economic situation we find ourselves. we discussed about their take home.
It even happened to dockworkers in Port and Cargo, TICT, and there was no crisis because what was supposed to be given to them was multiplied by about 2 or 3 of their take home. If they were to be paid N1 million before, and at the end of the day they are being paid three or four million naira for example, they will feel happy to go home.
In our negotiation, what we normally tell the employer is that since we are reducing people because of the economy, they should be put on priority list. As things improve, they are the first to be called back when you begin fresh employment.
We sent some laid off workers to other terminals. If they are being retrenched from TICT or other terminals. We applied crises management experience
How do we rate the compliance of IOCs with regards to dockworkers’ involvement in their operations?
It is not 100% compliance. We are still having issues. Some stevedoring contractors posted to Warri were descriminated for not being part of that place.
They didn’t allow the dock workers that are not from there to work. Some of the key actors of these IOCs have complied by engaging the stevedoring contractors but they didn’t allow the dock workers because they met some professionals on ground and that is why we are having problem of technicality in the IOC process.
If you are not a professional there’s no how you are going to function well. Those people are already trained to a standard and the law says that all the workers under IOC are members of MWUN and we agreed.
They haven’t been allowing us to unionise them because some of them fall under NUPENG. Some of them allow new options, MWUN dockworkers.
It is only few of them that we were able to unionise that are fully with us. We have discussed their CBA, in line with the policy of NJIC. I can mention about three or four companies that are fully with MWUN . We have Chevron, Central Energy and others.
What is the greatest thing that challenged you on this task as PG of MWUN and what was the most happiest thing you can point to that you have achieved?
The greatest challenge is when there is crisis within the union internally influenced sometimes externally. There can’t be union without unity.
My greatest happiness I have is uniting the union. Now all our past leaders are with us as founding fathers.
One of my greatest happiness is to unite all the warring factions of our founding fathers or past leaders.
During the lockdown, the maritime workers across the globe were viewed as essential workers and in the face of the lockdown work was going on. As we had that work do you think the Nigerian government has given enough recognition to the average maritime worker as an essential worker?
They need to do more. They need to give us more recognition. Dockworkers are the engine room of manpower operation in any port.
Enough recognition has not been given to us in this country and that is why I am calling on Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, that has had so much respect and love for the workers to intervene.
The minister has been identifying with us. Recall, he witnessed the signing of agreement of minimum standard in shipping which has never happened before.
Some stakeholders have been saying why must he come and witness that agreement but they don’t know that the man has the love of the workers in his heart. It is an appeal to him to give more recognition to dockworkers and the whole of maritime sector.
If we shut down the whole ports today, the whole economy of this country is grounded. Why shouldn’t we be celebrated?
They should not wait till we die one after the other before they recognise us that there is need for them to recognise and honor the dockers.
I want to thank the honorable minister again for giving them go ahead this time around, recognitions have started coming and we did not have it in the past. . We should not only be celebrated, we should be given awards.
Look at what happened to the defunct NNSL workers, for almost 28 years now they have not paid them their pensions.
It is as bad as that.
These people worked in the rain, sun and during the holidays, they are in the port working for the nation and they are dying installmentally. If it is not because we are now having condition of service that we believe will be improved every 2 years in line with the NJIC, by now no one would want to be a dock worker.
For a union in transition going into 2025, when we are expecting new leadership, what is your advice for your people and what are you expecting from your people in terms of conduct, spirit of spotmanship, oneness, comradeship for which the Union has been known under your watch?
Let me say that I am impartial and will be committed to a free and open leadership recruitment system. The union is a family and election can only unite us the more. There will be no division
We should build upon the legacy that we are about leaving behind. We should not see the election of 2025 to be a war. Four years is like a day or a twinkle of eye in the eyes of Almighty God.
If you don’t get it this time around you might get it another time. I waited for so long before God chose me as their leader.
We have a tradition of unity and love .They should not kill that tradition but they should still believe in it. That is a tradition of harmonizing ourselves together.
We have four branches and we have a rule. We also have conditions attached to who becomes the PG. I was not the one that put myself here. It is the workers from the four branches I did not record any crisis with the seafarers, shippers, NPA and dockworkers.
In 2025, there won’t be any crisis. It takes a very good commander to have organised a befitting election in the four branches and I did all here in our headquarter. We felt we wanted the whole world to know that stories of hooliganism attached to MWUN is untrue
Everybody is speaking good about us now. We need to maintain the tempo of goodness in the eyes of the government and stakeholders.
If I could conduct dock workers elections here peacefully and we avoided what would have created crisis in the ports, my appeal to the contestants is that they should take it easy. They have all contributed to the success recorded now. They should not divide the house into two because of election.
Throughout my life, I remain a peacemaker but I am also a warlord in terms unionism. We are here because I have defended this union to a standard and that is why I give all of them the respect due to them. Everybody supported me and I have not disappointed them today
As a royal prince. our union has been recognised locally and Internationally. For me, becoming a global vice president, African Chairman, Executive Board Member of ITF worldwide is not a joke. They should not change the narrative, but they should allow peace to continue to reign.
I don’t look for trouble but if trouble comes, I won’t run away. I won’t abandon my union.I will face it using dialogue and every lawful means to solve it.
If I had run away long time ago, I wouldn’t be here. We should apply professionalism into what we are doing. All the contestants are presentable but all of them cannot become PG at the same time.
The contestants know that we have a tradition of harmonizing our offices and that is what has been bringing the joy and peace that we have all been enjoying today.The joy of any leader is having a good successor.
How did you manage the challenge of preventing EndSARS arsonists from vandalising the Lagos ports?
On how we manage the issue of Endsars that could have turned the ports upside down. I will say It takes the responsibility of a leader to weigh options. When external forces that are not our members were trying to take over our responsibility as dockworkers
They were already in the ports and I was at Ikeja when they told me that they are going inside the ports. I called the then MD of NPA, and I alerted him that this is what we are hearing and it’s not going to be in the interest of this nation.
Because if a vessel is being attacked, then Nigeria’s name would be rubbished internationally so i called all the executives, dock workers, that they should close and leave the port. So that the government, the security agents, can easily identify intruders who doesn’t have anything to do than to cause chaos in the ports.
As a responsible union leader who believe if anything happens to any of our members or vessel the ITF and IMO will ask us to write reports because they believe we are representing workers. We did that on behalf of the government and Nigerians because we don’t have another country.
So it’s part of my joy for not allowing miscreants hiding as EndSARS protesters to infiltrate the port and turn it into another war area. You can see what they did in NPA headquarters they almost burned down the building.
Up till today nobody has asked us how we managed it i need to commend the Commissioner of Police then who is now AIG. Adeleke .He was the DC Ops then he is one of the best policemen that I think has worked with MWUN to monitor workers in Nigeria.
He was the only one that commended us. Even the management of NPA, Koko did not say, thank you Mr. President for helping us. So, I want to thank you, our brother, our friend, we will continue to align with your organisation.
Because even if I leave tomorrow, the footprints you’ve laid down with your support, you have given to Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, I believe the new administration will continue to build from there, time to time and any day any time, our door is open.
If we make a mistake, you can correct and alert us just like how some of your colleagues have been doing. So let me use the medium to thank the journalists that organised the Dockworkers Day.
I want to thank them on behalf of Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, we appreciate them and their leaders. We appreciate all the people that have been supporting our unsung heroes
I also want to equally use this medium to thank our employers of labour. On behalf of the union, I want to appreciate Chief Princess Hasstrup who have been piloting the affairs of STOAN since beginning of the terminal operations it can only come from them.
It can only come from people who have the love of the workers on their hearts. All the terminal operators we want to thank them , we pray that next year is going to be a prosperous new year for all of us.
I also want to thank my friend, the President of senior staff he has been a wonderful and supportive friend. He was with me in ITF in Morocco, and I pray God will continue to bless the good work of his hands. He is a unionist to the core and he is somebody who doesn’t divide the house.
He is a team player, a team builder. I want to thank him because if you want to become a leader or a PG you must have a team. You must have team players you don’t do it alone. Unionism is not for one person and the type of unionism we are running today is management trade unionism.
That is what we are running if we were to go by proper elections, some of us would not be elected. But today, we are running management trade unionism all over the world.
The Merchant Navy and seafarers are our pillars too so I want to thank their president and their executives for the support we have been enjoying together may God continue to help us. And my international base, the man among the men, that is Comrade Alhaji Dauda Safiyanu the Secretary General of ITF Africa I want to thank him for the support he has been giving to us
