The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has urged political leaders to strengthen democratic principles and avoid overheating the polity, warning against allowing the struggles of past heroes to be in vain.

Amidst the country’s many challenges related to insecurity and economic problems, the union urged politicians to avoid actions that could lead to chaos and division within the polity.

NUPENG President, Salimon Oladiti, expressed this during Democracy Day, highlighting that the day should remind Nigerians of their sacrifices in the fight for democratic governance.

He urged politicians to show dedication to transparency, accountability and adherence to the rule of law.

The union leader said the date proved the union and its leadership’s efforts, which championed the democracy now enjoyed by everyone in Nigeria.

Oladiti emphasised the urgent need for political leaders to confront and resolve issues that threaten Nigeria’s democracy.

He stressed that the government must prioritise tackling insecurity while also advancing programmes that enhance workers’ welfare and rights, which he said included providing strong legal protections, improving working conditions, and safeguarding the health, safety and dignity of the workforce.

Oladiti, however, said all those involved in the struggle should be consistently celebrated or possibly immortalised.

He said that while it was appropriate to recognise June 12 as the country’s democracy day, he wished and prayed that posterity would continue to be kind to all the heroes who dared the military jackboots in restoring democracy in Nigeria.

Among them, he said, were ex-NUPENG President Frank Kokori; late politician and lawyer Bola Ige; and late human rights activist and lawyer Gani Fawehinmi. Others, he said, included Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka, Femi Falana, Joseph Akinlaja, as well as former External Affairs Minister Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi.

He recalled the roles NUPENG and PENGASSAN played and the price paid by both unions and their leadership at the time for the realisation of the democracy now being enjoyed in the country.

Oladiti said that while the leadership of the unions was dissolved by the late military junta, Gen. Sani Abacha, and sole administrators were appointed for them, and they were also starved of funds.

“The two general secretaries, Comrade Gilchrist Dabibi and Comrade Frank Ovie Kokori, along with Comrade Frank Addo of PENGASSAN, and other union leaders, including the then Port Harcourt Refinery Branch Secretary, were imprisoned.

“Many activists of the Campaign for Democracy and union leaders, including the then PENGASSAN President, Comrade Ganiu Owoduni, were hounded out of the country to seek asylum in foreign countries.

“There are many stories about the struggle against military rule that have not been told. Some may never be told or may have been relayed only in half. The story of the over 3,400 sacked workers at NSPMC and their contributions to the end of military tyranny is one such.

“Though many of the actors have died, including the former General Secretary of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), late Chief Frank Ovie Kokori, who spent years in Bama prison in Maiduguri and was declared a prisoner of conscience by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and Amnesty International (AI).

“Few of them who are still alive have hardly spoken about their heroic exploits in one of Nigeria’s most deadly battles against entrenched principalities and powers. The workers were sacked after the military tagged them as ‘agents of opposition.’ The workers sought revenge in an underground movement that shook the bedrock of the country,” he said.