By Abdulfatah Babatunde
A faith-based charitable organisation, the Zakat and Sadaqat Foundation has appealed to both the Federal Government and organised labour to quickly resolve their differences and end the strike once and for all.
Prince Sulayman Olagunju, the Executive Director of the Foundation gave the advice in an interview with TheNewsZenith shortly before the Labour unions suspended their strike for one week, on Tuesday.
Olagunju lamented that, within 24 hours, the strike had paralysed the economy and thrown the nation into darkness following the closing down of the National Grid.
“Poverty is the order of the day. There are quite several people that if they don’t go out daily, won’t have means of livelihood.
“When we now strike and make sure that people cannot move around, we are sending workers back home, we are not helping ourselves.
“ If we are protesting, it should be a peaceful one, to make sure the government understand what we are demanding.
“But not by breaking all the means of livelihood, whereby those who want to travel cannot move, and those who want to fly cannot do so because of the strike.
“On the part of the government, I equally advise that they shouldn’t have allowed things to degenerate to this level.
“When your people are complaining, take time and listen to their demands and see how best you can resolve issues so that you don’t allow poor man to suffer,’’ the Foundation’s CEO said.
According to him, most of the time, it’s not the labour unions that will suffer. Also, it is not the government that would suffer.
“In most cases, it is mostly the common man who is suffering the effects of the strike.
“So, I will appeal that government should listen and respond to the demands of the labour.
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“At the same time, labour should also be diplomatic and requesting for their rights.
“Bye and large, we all belong to this country and ……
On the part of Zakat and Sadakat Foundation and all other charity organisations, he said they were doing their best to empower people for economic prosperity.
“We’ve been doing our best and we hope to continue to do our best.
“We have empowered many people so that they too can contribute to the economy of the country.
“These are people who cannot rely on the salary that the government is going to pay
salary.’’
At Z&S, Olagunju said the foundation has empowered many Nigerians. Beneficiaries of such empowerment, he said “are out there and doing well’’.
He said the foundation had given out working tools in various sectors.
“There are people we’ve given tricycles, there those who received motorcycles and even there those we gave bus. And they are doing well, contributing to the nation’s economic growth.
“So, when we now find ourselves in a situation where people cannot go out to work because of the strike, that is not the best for our economy.
“I will appeal to the government, and to the labour to reach a common ground and let us end this strike as quickly as possible,” Olagunji pleaded.
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