NIGERIA is like an orphan. A country without heroes. The political leadership over the decades have been held in suspicion by a frustrated citizenry whose situation simply gets worse. The country does not seem to have heroes that generations can look up to or can inspire.
The famous German writer, Bertolt Brecht, declared in his play Life of Galileo: “Poor is the nation that has no heroes, but poorer still is the nation that, having heroes, fails to recognise and honour them”. This was what the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC and the family of Michael Imoudu, the most famous labour leader in our history, on Saturday, December 20, 2025, stepped in to correct. They not just revealed that Nigeria has contemporary heroes, but that we have men and women whose lives and sacrifices seem fictional.
This was at the maiden Michael Imoudu Awards, MIA held in Lagos to commemorate the twentieth passing away of Imoudu, one of the most iconic figures in Nigeria history.
The story of Zanna Shettima who was named the Courage In The Face Of Adversity awardee, is the stuff epic movies are made. He was the Chairman of the Borno State Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) who led the workers in a marathon strike from 2001 to 2002. The strike had initially been part of a national one called to compel the implementation of a New National Minimum Wage. Local grievances such as non-payment of leave grants, allowances, pension were added.
Matters got out of hand when armed policemen were unleashed on the workers as they met at the Musa Usman Secretariat. Six workers were shot in the process. State agents and thugs also attacked the NLC Secretariat on Bama Road, GRA, Maiduguri. They vandalised the property.
Then, one night, criminal elements invaded the home of Comrade Shettima, setting it ablaze with his family trapped in it. His then 18-year old son had his legs, abdomen and back badly burnt and had to spend three months in hospital.
When he remained unyielding, Zanna was, during a journey, ambushed in Auno, Konduga Local Government, some kilometres from Maiduguri. The assailants set up a roadblock, and before he could stop, they started shooting. He managed to escape unhurt, but his friend, who was travelling with him, had his left leg broken by bullets. The victim spent four months in the hospital.
At one time, Comrade Shettima was also arrested and detained without trial at the State Police Command. Finally, the state government of Mala Kachalla cracked and gave in to all the demands of the workers. Comrade Shetima, a nurse, after the mandatory 35 years in service, retired in 2017.
The story of Abdulkadir Isa Iguda, whose award was for being the Outstanding Trade Union Leader, was also gripping. He was the former Acting President of the proscribed Customs & Excise and Immigration Staff Union (CEIMSU)
While in service, at the risk of his career and, against service rules, he fought for the de-proscription of the union. The Babangida military regime had, under Decree 25 of 1989, proscribed the union. Isa refused to backdown. He subsequently established the Customs & Excise and Immigration Staff Association (CEIMSA)
On December 10, 2007 CEIMSA wrote to the Ministry of Interior to allow it run as a Joint Consultative Committee for its members. The Ministry, on March 12, 2008, rejected this idea. Isa as a serving member of a paramilitary organisation, also reported the Nigerian government to the International Labour Organisation, ILO. In response, the ILO in 2012, requested the Nigerian Government to amend Section 11 of the Trade Union Act and allow organisations like the Customs, Immigration and Police, wider rights to join and organise in trade unions.
Today, forty six years after the union was proscribed and his retirement as an Immigration officer, he continues his campaign for the de-proscription. Isa was a ten-year old Primary Three pupil when he was first prosecuted in 1964. The charge was for furthering the aims of the opposition Northern Elements Progressive Union, NEPU.
The Outstanding Campaigner For Rights award went to Mr. Femi Falana, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN and former President of the West Africa Bar Association. He is one of the most outstanding human rights leaders in Africa.
Apart from decades of defending students, workers and the marginalised, pro bono, he has been a lawyer of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) for decades. Falana is also a lawyer to the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), better known as Western Sahara, the Venezuelan Government. He is the Chair of the Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 and Beyond (ASCAB)
The Life Time Achievement Award went to Comrade Sylvester O. Z. Ejiofoh, popularly called ‘Head of Service’. He was the pioneer General Secretary of the Civil Service Technical Workers Union of Nigeria (CSTWUN) and its successor, Amalgamated Union.
He was for decades a Member of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Central Working Committee (CWC) and National Executive Council (NEC). He was the founding Chairperson of the Party for Social Democracy (PSD) which later changed its name to the Labour Party (LP). He remains the Chairperson of the party’s Board of Trustees.
Mrs Lucy Offiong, former Vice President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and an ex-Chairperson of the NLC Women Wing, was named the Most Outstanding Woman Activist. Motivated by a desire for growth and wider opportunities, she embraced an offer to join the Nigeria Civil Service Union, NCSU. A dedicated unionist with an exceptional leadership record, she rose through the ranks to become the first female Deputy General Secretary of the union.
Her tenure in the NLC Women’s Commission was marked by significant achievements, especially in promoting gender equity and enhancing women’s participation in union activities nationwide. Although now retired, she remains active, vibrant, and committed to the causes she holds dear.
Baba Omojola Oluwide was named for the Special Posthumous Award. This was for his outstanding dedication to Pa Imoudu and the monumental work on his biography. Baba was an outstanding labour leader, economist, internationalist and former Private and Political Secretary to Imoudu. He was Editor-in -Chief of the Universal Socialist Review, 1957-1961, a prolific writer and author of books like “People’s Democracy” 1968, “ Half-A- Century” 1982, and the 492-page “ Imoudu – A Biography: Political History of Nigeria, 1939-1950”
The Rising Labour Star Award went to Abdulazeez Lekan ‘Las’ Shoneye, 29. He is the Coordinator of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) Young Workers Network, which groups the graduates of the FES Young Workers Programme in Nigeria. Shoneye is a lecturer at the Sikiru Adetona College of Education, Science and Technology, Ogun State.
Thus, the NLC and the Imoudu Family showed Nigerians that we have heroes who can inspire other citizens to make sacrifices.
- Lakemfa writes from Abuja