Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential aspirant, has called on Nigerians to work in harmony to produce a better country for themselves and future generations.
Tinubu in a statement by his media aide, Mr Tunde Rahman, on Sunday in Lagos, in commemoration of the 2022 international workers’ day, urged Nigerians to dedicate themselves to a hopeful future.
The APC presidential hopeful enjoined everyone to do what was necessary to pave and ease the way for the Nigerian labourer.
He said: “Labour is the backbone of a nation. Our nation’s labourers are the daily unsung heroes of society.
“The work they performed helps define our nation. The goods and services their efforts provide are the basis of our collective well-being.
“It is a day for us to fully celebrate the Nigerian worker. You face many obstacles, but you persevere and thrive even in the most difficult situations and hard times.
“So many workers wake before dawn and continue their labour until well after dusk. Their industry and commitment are remarkable; their sacrifice, inspiring.
“Today l join all Nigerians in celebrating the hard work and productivity of Nigerian workers around the country. Without them, there is no production, no progress, no development and no better tomorrow.”
Tinubu, therefore, called on the people to dedicate the day and themselves to the fair and unassailable proposition that every worker was entitled to an equitable wage representing the value of their labour and effort.
According to him, Nigerians everywhere continue to produce goods and services, applying their skills, ingenuity, and pursuit of a better way in all fields of economic endeavour.
He said: “From factory to farm, large to small businesses, from using traditional skills in established ways to deploying technology to create new skills and tomorrow’s new products.
“Through their hard endeavour, the nation’s workers embody the best of themselves and rekindle hope for Its nation’s future.”
The former governor of Lagos state noted that work not only provided a livelihood, it added greater meaning and purpose to the lives of those who actually laboured.
He advised the people to celebrate those who labour for the collective good and prosperity of all.
“Let us also dedicate our labour to provide the best products and services our society and its people need.
“Everyday that we show up to work and contribute the best of ourselves to the labour at hand is a day we contribute to the betterment of our communities.
“May we do what is necessary to pave and ease the way for the Nigerian labourer.
“That no one who works for a living should live in poverty. That no one shall work in unacceptable and dangerous conditions.
“No one shall experience discrimination and bigotry on the job. All forms of harassment of female workers and unfair treatment of the physically challenged must end.
“And those who are now elderly and retired are duly entitled to timely and full payment of the pensions owed them for their years of labour and toil for the benefit of this nation,” he said.
Tinubu explained that everyone is a worker, and all had roles to play in the progress of our nation.
He noted that extra burden, however, was placed upon a nation’s leaders, therefore, they must create the economic and political space so that the workforce might thrive and achieve its fullest expression.
Tinubu advised that the leaders must set the tone for the entire community by embodying diligence, selflessness, and productive purpose so that the rest of society might follow in this manner.
“As we acknowledge and celebrate the Nigerian worker on this day, let us as Nigerians, dedicate ourselves to a hopeful future where our individual and collective efforts merge in harmony to produce a better Nigeria for ourselves and future generations,” he said.